Because everyone loves Disney with a modern spin
by Hyp3rn3rd
Summary: So this is my take on classic, beloved Disney characters (mostly princesses and princes) in a high school setting. It's halfway through the year but the drama, excitement and fun is barely over for Disney High students. Everyone expects a happily ever after, but not without countless twists and a few good laughs. I promise this'll be a good ride down feels-ville ;)
1. Chapter 1: Nobody likes Mondays

**This entire fanfic is dedicated to Nina-D-lux and those of you who still has a little princess deep inside and never actually got over your Princess-phase :P**

Chapter 1

_You can do this girl. It's no biggie. It's just another spar, the last one of the day. You can do this! He's just another guy. You've beaten tons of guys, he's no exception. This is your thing. I am in the "zone", I can do this!_

Mulan rarely got nervous for matches; she never seemed to feel the pressure. She easily fought her way to the final match. Ok, it was only "easy" because the last guy in the semi-finals was uncomfortable with hitting girls so she had a distinct advantage. But this guy? Where does she even begin? He's so…

_Cute?_

_No?! No. He's just… his face is just… very… agreeable. But also really… intimidating._

_Girl, who you kiddin'? You know he's damn well fine! Look at that fine figure and them broad shoulders! And look at how the fine silky fabric clings to them nice shoulders of his._

_Shut up! God, why do you sound so ghetto, little voice in my head? And why do you keep using the word "fine"? _

_You know I'm damn right girlfriend._

_Shut up! But dammit, he's the type of boy my parents definitely would approve of. _

_You gonna have smart, gorgeous, Kung Fu-fightin' babies._

_Shut up!_

It was a friendly match organized by Mulan's Master, Master Fung; and his good friend, Master Li from a different martial arts studio across town. They wanted to have their students compete against one another for practice in the upcoming regional tournaments. She didn't think much of it until she laid eyes on Master Li's son. He was the best student in their studio (obviously), but fortunately she was too in her own studio.

Mulan watched as her opponent took his place across the mat. He doesn't look worried at all. If anything, he definitely had no problem hitting girls.

_Tsk tsk. Domestic violence ain't good for the marriage, girl._

_Shut up!_

"Fa Mulan?" the supervising Judge asked to make sure she was the right opponent. Mulan nodded.

"Li Shang?" Her opponent nodded too.

_Li Shang… Mrs. Li, has a nice ring to it._

_Shutupshutupshutupshutup!_

They bowed to the Judge, then at each other. When he gave the signal, the spar had started. Too distracted with her own thoughts, Mulan barely saw the kick come as it landed square on her chest, sending her sprawling on the floor. The Judge gestured to Shang, indicating the point when to him.

_Ow. That boy can really kick!_

"Focus, Mulan!" cried her Master somewhere in the background.

"My son will beat her easily," Master Li whispered to his friend with a smirk.

"We'll see about that," Mulan's Master replied, smiling.

Both opponents returned to their starting positions. And the signal was again given to fight.

_Focus Mulan, you can do this!_

She attacked first but he blocked her kick. He returned it with a punch but she dodged away to the left and quickly hooked a kick to his chest.

_Bam! Score! Hah, now we're even!_

But the third point went to Shang again when he hit her in the face.

_Ooh, bitch slap! Girl, that gotta hurt!_

_And I'm going to feel this tomorrow._

_Tough love. _

_Shut up!_

"Well, it's only a friendly competition but I'd congratulate you for trying," Master Li mused to his friend.

"Don't be too cocky, Li. This is only the third point, he hasn't won yet."

"Yet," Master Li gloated.

Mulan raised her hands just in time to block the kick. She was about to jump up and slap kick him but Shang ducked. He recovered before she did and crouch-sliced her down with his leg. And he almost got the chance to punch her in the face again but she reacted faster and kicked his instead.

"Hah! You were saying, Li?" Master Fung laughed.

"She's good, but not good enough. Those ten bucks will be mine!" Master Li huffed.

Mulan took a deep breath. As the Judge gave the final signal, Shang leapt for her with a cry of fury, his flying kick aimed right at her face. She side-stepped out of the way as he landed with a soft thud on the mat. He swung a fist at her abdomen but she cross-blocked him and tried to twist his hand for leverage to do a turning-kick to his face. Shang's other free hand caught her right leg before the damage was done. They were both momentarily locked in each other's grip until Mulan kicked herself free. Now they circled each other around the mat, fixed in an intense gaze, Shang's more intense than Mulan's.

_Now or never Mulan!_

_Yeah! Whoop pretty boy's sorry ass! _

She took a quick step forward, turned around and rear-kicked him in the chest. Shang easily grabbed her right leg with both his hands.

_Gotcha right where I want you!_

Shang took the bait and before he knew it Mulan supported herself with both hands on the ground, sending a donkey-like kick with her left leg right up Shang's jaw.

_Damn girl, hee-to-the-haw! That's what I'm talking about! Right in pretty boy's face! Whoooo!_

_Yes! Boo-yah!_

The Judge signaled the end of the match and declared Mulan winner. Mulan got up and beamed at Master Fung and her friends with excitement and utter glee. She was doing a mental victory lap, complete with a victory dance and victory theme song.

"Hah! Pay up, Li!" Master Fung rubbed Mulan's victory in Master Li's face by pumping his fists.

Even Master Li was in disbelief for a few seconds before his face turned into a scowl. He muttered a "She got lucky" as he took his wallet out and threw a ten-dollar bill at his friend.

Shang was the most shocked and annoyed of all. He muttered something and cursed himself for not seeing that stupid kick coming. He had never felt so humiliated in all his life and defeated by the hands of a stupid girl! He just wanted punch someone really, really bad. He took the walk of shame off the mat back to his Master, or rather father, with his head down in anger. Mulan on the other hand, leapt to the embrace of her friends as they squealed in excitement for her victory.

"You were awesome, Mulan!" Mei cried.

"Omigosh that kick. Eeeee! It was like wham! Right in the face!" Su squealed in delight.

"You okay, Mulan? That punch in the face before was a pretty hard hit," Ting Ting regarded her kindly.

"Yeah I'm fine. But holy crap, I can't believe I did that! _I_ did that!" The four of them did a tight group hug, bouncing up and a down like children.

"'Eeee! Omigawwwd!' Fah! They're a bunch of sissies anyway. Screw them, Shang!" Yao, a stocky and gruff student of Master Li said loudly, across the room.

"Yeah, talk about stupid! Forget them, Shang!" Ling, his skinny friend chimed in.

Mulan just ignored them and went to hug Master Fung. He put on his strict face again and held her by the shoulders to stop her from hugging him. Mulan just giggled and bowed to her master.

Shang went up to them and gave a polite but forced bow and left with Master Li by his side to rejoin his friends. Master Li pulled a grumpy face at Master Fung, "This isn't over."

"It's ok. It's just a friendly competition, right Li?" Master Fung shouted back.

Master Li grunted and led his students out the room. As they were leaving, Ling looked back and mouthed a "Call me" to Ting Ting but she just rolled her eyes. Shang gave the group a look of disdain.

_Well, there goes pretty boy._

_Sigh. Yes, there he goes. _

The sad thought passed Mulan as she continued to bask in her victory with her friends.

* * *

Mulan practically knocked down the door and fell flat on her face as she stumbled into the classroom.

"Hey guys!" she wheezed.

"Hey klutz," said Meg.

She got a few "Heys" simultaneously from Kida, a frustrated Meri and a book-distracted Belle.

"Someone's in a good mood," Meg mused. "You finished your essay early?"

"Nope," Mulan beamed. She took a little joyful spin and sat down in her seat.

"Something's up… It's a Monday… Why are you so happy?" Meg narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Meg was smart, too smart.

"Nooooothing," Mulan said to lead her best friend on. They seemed like a most unlikely pair to be best friends, with Meg being one of the most condescending, arrogant, sassiest person known to mankind; and Mulan being the very opposite. Their friendship was mostly based on Meg's admiration for Mulan's top grades, and Mulan's appreciation for Meg's intelligence and wit. They weren't always friends. In fact, they used to be enemies. But that's a story for another time. Despite their differences, they somehow got through much drama and became the best of friends.

Meg shook Mulan by the shoulders demanding an answer. "Tell me what happened this weekend!"

"Yes! Finally!" Meri cried in the background. Then a second later she flipped. "Aargh! Stupid, cheap piece of crap! Ugh!" She began banging her head on the table.

"What's wrong, Meri?" Mulan asked.

"My stupid, stupid hair-tie broke! Just when I finally got it to tie my freakin' hair! Ugh!" Meri yelled in exasperation.

"Hey! Don't ignore me, Mulan. Something happened this weekend! Spill!" Meg insisted.

"Why does Meg use the word 'spill'? Is there something leaking?" Kida asked. Meg rolled her eyes. Kida's only been learning English for a few years and just moved to America with her family last year.

"It's a slang word meaning 'to reveal something'; hence Meg is telling Mulan to 'spill' her secrets," Belle replied matter-of-factly without looking up from her book.

"Ah… I understand now."

"Well?" Meg looked at Mulan. "Do 'reveal' your secret to me."

"Ok, ok. Well… I won a Kung Fu match…"

"Psh. That's it?" Meg cut in.

"… Aaand I met this guy…" Mulan mumbled.

"_Now_ you have my attention!" Meg smiled slyly.

"Well, it's more like I met this guy, then I beat him in the Kung Fu match…"

"I'm listening." Meri pulled her chair up to them both, along with Kida.

"Tell us about this boy!" Kida said.

"Is he cute?" Meg asked.

"Yes…" Mulan smiled as her face burned up.

"Like on a scale of one to Robert Downey Jr., how cute is he?" Meg raised her right brow, it was so Meg.

"He's Chinese." Mulan shrunk into her seat with embarrassment.

"Your parents would definitely approve. So? When do I get to be godmother of your babies?" Meg teased.

"Shut up!" Mulan blushed. "For your information, I'll probably never see him again. He just had… a nice face. So-called 'eye-candy' in your language, that's it."

"Psh, Naveen's eye-candy and you don't see me blushing when I mention his name."

"That's because you don't like anyone, Meg. Aaaand you set your standards way too high for any mortal to reach," Meri stated.

"Yeah, that too. Plus guys here are just so… ugh. They're way out of my league. Besides, I don't see anything wrong with wanting a perfect boyfriend," said Meg.

"Well, perfect is boring. Like what Tyra Banks said. You play so hard-to-get, one of these days, no one's going to want to get you." Mulan said.

"Psh, why should I adjust my standards and lower it down to their level anyway? I'm infinity and beyond," Meg joked.

"You're too proud. You got way too much attitude," Meri said.

"Why thank you, I take that as a compliment." Meg bowed at them sarcastically.

"Anyway, tell us more about this boy!" said Kida.

Mulan began describing in detail what Shang looked like and his behavior during the match. She also painted a vivid picture on how she kicked his ass. She finished her whole story in time before the bell rang for registration, having been interrupted by her friends many times and the occasional snide comments from Meg.

* * *

Naveen plopped into his seat and put his legs on the table. He didn't get why people hated Monday, it was just like any other day to him because he simply doesn't care. This year has waltzed by and it's already the end of February. A little less than four months more of surviving this stupid school and it'll be summer, babes and beaches. Naveen barely passes his subjects since he skips classes or just mucks around all the time. The only reason they haven't expelled him was because daddy is filthy rich.

His partner-in-crime is Phoebus. He wasn't as exotic as his friend, but is handsome nonetheless. He had blonde hair and a cheeky twinkle in his eyes. He was always up for a joke and was the comic-relief of the pair. They were both players, awfully good ones too. Naveen was obviously more physically attractive with tanned brown skin and chocolate hair. He was indeed very charming. A quiver of his eyebrows, his dazzling smile, and a little wink can send the ladies swooning all over the place and their knees buckling. Phoebus' weapon of choice was his sense of humour and his way with words. Girls always succumb to their every whim, with the exception of Tiana and Esmeralda.

Tiana just wasn't that type of girl to be fooled by good looks. She was too focused on her studies to be tempted by stupid boys and their trashy pick-up lines. Tiana was much too smart and competent for guys anyway.

As for Esmeralda, she herself was all too familiar with the game they're playing because she is also a player. The best there is too because she was much more cunning in the art of flirting, knowing that 'She who controls the cookie, controls the game.' And Esmeralda's cookie was _the_ cookie of cookies. She was the most gorgeous girl in school; practically every guy can't help but stare as she walked by. Almost half the school has a crush on her and the other half, which are the girls, envied her good looks. But what's not to like? She was kind to everyone, particularly the girls; she was an extremely talented dancer, whenever the school had an assembly or other fancy occasions Esmeralda was asked to perform; she was also smart, with a full scholarship as a reward for her good grades and esteemed talents. Tiana and Esmeralda were very good friends and they were alike in many ways, except Esmeralda was much more appealing and charismatic.

Naveen looked over to Esmeralda and scanned her perfect 36-24-36 physique from head to toe. It had become a daily routine for him to make sure he got a good look at her every chance he got. God, how could anyone be sick of a sight like her? That piece of eye-candy was like a drug to him.

Esmeralda was talking to Tiana about some assignment due at the end of the week. Lottie who was next to them half-focused at the conversation, noticed Naveen looking at their direction. She giggled and did a cute little wave by wiggling her fingers at him. Naveen rolled his eyes, and just waved back casually. His small gesture sent Lottie into a flutter of giggles and her face burned up immediately. She sighed dreamily.

Naveen always found Lottie very irritating with her high-pitched squeals and overly pink pinkness. Her pink clothes, pink makeup, the matching pink jewelry, pouches and stationary… And the studs, who could forget the studs. God, how can anyone stand so much pink? She was like Barbie except well… fatter. And that toxic Taylor Swift crap she sprays. Ugh. It smelled like sweet candy floss and strawberries. It wasn't that bad at first, but after being exposed to it for a while, it's sickening. The worst part was that Lottie was _always_ in the way. Every time he wanted to make a move on Esmeralda, Lottie was just _there_. Like cupid trying to shoot his arrows of love, except Lottie was on the receiving end. But who could blame her? All the girls were pretty much on the receiving end anyway.

He walked up to Esmeralda in his usual suave manner and placed his hand on the table, covering the book Tiana was working on.

"Hey, Esme." Naveen flashed Esmeralda his flashiest smile. Tiana rolled her eyes while trying to pry her book from under Naveen's hand.

Esmeralda tried to ignore Naveen, but after seeing him rooted in the same spot for a few seconds she finally turned around. "What is it, Naveen?" she said in her raspy, seductive voice. That was another bonus, Naveen thought, Esmeralda's incredibly sexy voice.

"Haaaaaay Naveen!" Lottie giggled uncontrollably in the background.

"So I was wondering…" Naveen began, "My dad recently had La Esmeralda polished up… You wanna maybe take a ride this weekend? Just you and me? I'll put the wind in your sails if you raise my mast." Naveen wagged his eyebrows.

"You're disgusting." Tiana pulled a face.

"Aww, that is soooo cute! He named his car after you!" Lottie squealed.

"La Esmeralda is a boat, not a car, Lottie," Tiana remarked.

"She's not _just_ a boat, she's a yacht. The smoothest and quietest there is too. So whaddaya say, Esme?" Naveen gleamed. How could she possibly resist such an offer from _the_ Naveen?

They were too focused on the conversation to realize that Phoebus had arrived on the scene. Once he spotted Esmeralda and his best friend, he too wanted to join in their little crowd. He swung his arm over Esmeralda's shoulders and pulled her close to him.

"Heya, gorgeous! What's up?"

"The ceiling," Tiana replied sarcastically in her seat, obviously not in the mood to entertain Phoebus.

"Naveen invited Esmeralda to his boat, _La Esmeralda_ for a date. They're goin' on a romantic boat ride this weekend… Can I come, Naveen? I'd like to ride your boat too!" Lottie pleaded.

"Eww!" Tiana smacked Lottie.

"Ow! What?! What'd I say?"

Phoebus feigned hurt and grabbed his chest with his free hand, "A date?! Without inviting mua? You bastard! I'm honestly hurt, Naveen. I thought we were the best of friends! What happened to 'Bros before hoes'?" Phoebus began to drag Esmeralda away from Naveen, "Come, Esmeralda! I shall take you away from this wretched man, and you and I will have a rrrrromantic candlelight dinner instead."

Tiana rolled her eyes as Esmeralda wriggled free from Phoebus' grasp. She walked right up to Naveen, inches from his face with her eyes narrowed and her lips curled up the slightest bit. She tiptoed, arms resting her arms on his chest and looked right into his eyes, "Don't. Call. Me. Esme." Then she spun around and pushed Naveen away as her wavy hair smacked him in the face.

Phoebus opened his arms and said, "Do I get some of that too?"

Esmeralda went up to Phoebus and punched him in the gut. "_That_ was for calling me a hoe!" And she walked back to Tiana and Lottie.

"Ow! Ok, geez. I'm sorry!" Phoebus walked back to his seat next to Naveen's. "That girl can seriously punch!" He said to Naveen once out of earshot, whilst he rubbed his stomach.

'Dude! What the heck was that?!" Naveen shoved Phoebus. "You totally ruined my chance with Esmeralda! I was so close and you just had to walk in with your loud mouth!"

"Pff, since when do you need my help screwing up your chances with Esmeralda? And 'La Esmeralda'? Since when do you have a boat called 'La Esmeralda'?" Phoebus shoved Naveen back.

"It's a _yacht_. And no, I don't have a yacht named 'La Esmeralda'. But my dad has a 'Mary Lou', stupid name, but I can easily have it painted over. And speak for yourself! You got your ass handed to you, Johnny Bravo."

"Hey there baby!" Phoebus starts to do his best Johnny Bravo impression and flexes at Naveen. "Man, I'm pretty!" Naveen just shoves Phoebus again.

At the girls' table, Tiana smirks. "Girl, you were real feisty just now!" complimenting Esmeralda's method of boy-disposal.

"They're idiots anyway." She smiles back.

"Yeah, and 'La Esmeralda'? Like really? That was really bad, like even for Naveen. He could do so much better."

"Ugh, I just hate that he called me 'Esme'. God, I hate that nickname! It reminds me of that Twilight character."

"Hey! Don't hate on Twilight, it was a good series! And Esme was a wonderful mom!" Lottie huffed.

"It was a really stupid, and you know it. I mean, sparkling vampires? Please," Esmeralda bobbed her head to get her point across.

"No, it's not! Edward is a god!" Lottie defended. She was a believer of true love, even if true love came in the form of sparkling vampires and werewolves. And one day, she was going to get her prince charming and her happy ending. She looked over to Naveen's direction and sighed. "You know… Naveen kind of looks like Edward and Jacob mixed together… Soooo hot…" she murmured.

Tiana gave her a look. "Eww. What do you see in him anyway? He's a pompous ass."

"I dunno… He's just soooo good to look at." Lottie sighed again and poked Esmeralda, "You're sooo lucky he asked you on a date. Why doesn't he ask me out?" And she pouted in disappointment.

Both Tiana and Esmeralda ignored her and continued planning on their assignment.

* * *

The first lesson was dragging painfully slow as Charming slumped down on his desk, pulling his hair and pinching his own cheeks to keep himself awake. That was the magic of Monday; everything just goes in super slow motion. Every time he checked the clock it felt like an interval of eternity when in fact it's only been five minutes. Ugh. And gravity was also particularly strong on Mondays as Charming felt himself being drawn to the table. He tried to defy it but his efforts were futile as he struggled in vain to lift his head. Whatever. English freakin' sucks anyway. They were doing 1984 by George Orwell and it was absolute torture. This is freakin' bullshit.

After what felt like ten hours, Charming's selective hearing caught the word "break" and he immediately leapt up from his seat and yawned. Other students were getting out of their seats to talk to their friends, take a sip of water or just stretching after sitting still for an hour straight.

"Dude, what are we doing now?" Charming asked his friend, only half-awake.

"Um, we have a break now, but after that we need to write a paragraph explaining why Winston loves Big Brother," Phillip replied.

"Who's Winston? And who the hell's Big Brother?"

His friend gave him a "duh" look.

"What? Whatever, I'll just ask Cinderella." Charming walked two rows over to where Cindy was scribbling in her notebook.

"Hey, Cinderella!" He ruffled her hair and slapped his notebook down in front of her. "How do I do this Winston-Big Brother thing?"

She glared at him with her brilliant blue eyes. "Go away, jerk! And stop calling me 'Cinderella'!" She began combing through her messed up hair with her fingers.

He smirked and ruffled her hair again, this time with both hands. Cinderella has surprisingly soft hair, Charming noted.

"Dude, stop it! God, you're so annoying!"

"I'll only stop if you help me."

"Just because you suck doesn't make it my problem!" she shot back. Cindy hated Charming. Since day one, he had singled her out as a target for his stupid little taunts and pranks. He liked bullying her for his personal amusement. As if having two spoiled rotten step sisters and a strict, stingy stepmother weren't enough to torment her. What did she ever do to deserve such a fate?

"Leave her alone, Charming." Aurora came over to Cinderella's rescue, and crossed her arms. She was normally a shy person, but when someone threatens her friends, they're looking for trouble. And Charming was constantly looking for trouble.

"And what are you gonna do, Ms. Goody-goody? Tell on me?" Charming taunted. The teacher was too focused on revising her notes to bother with her student s during break.

Aurora put her hands on her hips and said, "You're so immature. Maybe if you actually focused in class, you would know how to do the classwork."

"Nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh… Whatever." Bitch. Aurora was hot and all, but he couldn't stand goody-goody brats like her. Some people just can't take a joke. Charming scowled. He took his notebook then tugged at Cinderella's hair one last time and sprinted back to his seat.

"Hey! Jerk!" Cindy glowered at Charming, and he just stuck his tongue out like a child.

Charming mumbled a series of curse words then turned to his friend, "Phil, you gotta help me with this. I don't get this stupid book at all."

"That's because you haven't read it at all," Phillip said casually.

"Yeah, well half the class hasn't read it either. Who cares?"

"I have."

Charming rolled his eyes. "Dude, you're being such a dork. Stop trying to impress Ms. Goody-goody princess. Her royal highness is too high and freakin' mighty anyway. She'll never go for guys like us, so get your head out of your ass and teach me how to do this."

It was Phillip's turn to roll his eyes, "You mean guys like you. Why are we even friends? You're such a dick. You just can't stand smart people in general. What do you have against Aurora anyway? She's intelligent and beautiful." He looked over to Aurora and a small smile slipped unto his lips. Phillip's had a crush on her for years and everyone knows, but he never really admitted his feelings to her because he's afraid to get shot down. Aurora was just… perfect… She was the ideal student, the teachers love her, and Phillip certainly did too.

"Gaaaaaaaaay," Charming cupped his hands and yammered into Phillip's ear. "And I'm not standing, I'm sitting."

Meanwhile, Snow White skipped over to her besties after finishing her paragraph.

"Hey! Aurora, you're already done? Dude, you're so fast!" Snow exclaimed incredulously. Aurora just shrugged. "Oh my gosh, Cindy! What happened to your hair?!"

Aurora explained and afterwards Snow reacted immediately, "He did that?! Why I oughta... I oughta…" Snow tried to think of something horrible she could do to Charming.

"Chill! He's not worth it anyway," Aurora reminded Snow, being the more rational and calm out of the three of them.

Cindy folded her arms on the table and rested her head whilst Snow helped her comb through her tangled hair. "Charming my butt! He's such a jerk! I hate him."

"I so agree." Snow paused then suddenly brightened up, "Oh oh oh! You guys, you guys! Do you wanna come to my house and hangout today? Doris will be out with my dad, and mom's too busy to care. We can totally have the house to ourselves!" But right at that moment, the teacher stood up and ushered her students back to their seats, announcing that the break was over.

"We'll talk later!" Cindy said in a hushed tone.

* * *

A/N:

Hello fellow readers :3 (Don't hate me, I like to use emoticons…)

Hehe, so writing this fanfic made my inner girly-girl giggle, and I've realized that well, I never actually got over my Princess-phase which I thought ended when I was 7.

I was going through Devianart and looking through a lot of "Modern Disney Princess" drawings (hey, they were just really nice to look at) and it inspired me to draw. And halfway through drawing, I looked through some more drawings and came across Nina-D-lux's character sketches which lead me to her awesome Disney High fanfic (I'm sure most of you have read it already). And she inspired me to write my own fanfic, since I felt that I've envisioned most characters quite differently. I don't know… what do you think? I feel awful because it's like I'm copying her /: I admit, some things are kind of similar… but I've planned out the entire plot of the story and it's generally very different. Still… :3 I also feel like I sound very repetitive .-.

This is actually my first fan fiction… ever. How'd I do? Constructive criticism is highly appreciated, so please, please leave some ^^ Don't be too harsh though :P

Just quick points:

- That little inner "ghetto" voice that Mulan has is actually her inner Mushu :P I'm thinking in terms of Eddie Murphy.

- Yao, Ling, Chien Po, Ting Ting, Mei, Su are minor characters so they'll just briefly appear at times (the three girls are from Mulan 2)

- Was there too much conversation throughout the whole chapter between characters? /:

- In case you didn't know, Meri is Merida from Brave.

- I hope I didn't depict Esmeralda like a slut, she just knows when to flaunt what she's got without actually being desperate. Like she doesn't play hard to get, she _is_ hard to get ;)

- I actually based Lottie (Charlotte from the Princess and the Frog) a bit on my friend because I just thought she was the kind of country girl who'd be obsessed with Taylor Swift and Twilight :P

- Don't hate me for making Prince Charming such a jerk :3 There wasn't much to go on from his original character so I made him more interesting to read. I have much install for him, so don't you worry!

- I'd actually like to put more swear words for the conversations between guys because well, they're guys! But I didn't want to sound crass so I'll leave out the f- word.


	2. Chapter 2: Yay, Math

**This entire fanfic is dedicated to Nina-D-lux and those of you who still has a little princess deep inside and never actually got over your Princess-phase :P**

Chapter 2

Aurora meandered through the hustle and bustle of the corridors. It was break time and the hallway was packed with students hanging around their lockers. She was asked in the morning by the head teacher explicitly to pick up the new student and show him to classes. That's what you get for being every teacher's favourite student; you're automatically assumed to be the most logical candidate that should be assigned to guide the new student. Luckily, she didn't have to babysit him because that would mean letting him hang with her and the girls for a couple of days, and that would totally ruin the group chemistry.

It wasn't like her obedient, polite self was a façade, but being the good girl her parents raised doesn't make her the school's personal pet. Why can't the teachers cut her some slack and leave her be like other impulsive, hormonal teenagers? Or rather, why can't other people just lean more towards the well-behaved side so she won't be considered the most volunteering, helpful goody-goody? She knew she seemed to give off a self-important, kiss-ass vibe, and that's what annoyed her most because she was the exact opposite of vain. She was actually quite timid, and the only reason she came off as a complete smart-ass was because she just answered more questions in class. Well, more like being the only one who answers questions since the rest of the class stays silent. She hated the awkward silence after a teacher asks a questions and no one responds. Well, she just hated awkward silences in general. It's just so… awkward. And what's wrong with answering questions anyway? It doesn't mean she wanted to purposely get on the teacher's good side for a good grade (if so, it was completely unintentional).

Aurora clutched her books to her chest and looked back to make sure the new student didn't lose her in this crowd. He was a few paces behind, so it meant he was following okay. She started to get very self-conscious. Gosh, was she supposed to be right in front of him, or next to him? Was she walking too fast? The way she was clutching her books and the number of times she kept looking back made her look so paranoid, like she was going to get raped or something. Maybe she was being paranoid. It's not like she wanted to start talking to the new student and yammer off about the school history or give him advice with classes and teachers. Plus the boy didn't ask. She looked back again, this time he caught her eye and she immediately looked forward again. This was so awkward.

A few more steps… and finally! Aurora arrived outside the classroom with the new student. There was some screaming from inside. His face remained slack the entire time.

"So um… this is your Math classroom… And if you need anything, I'm just across, so… yeah…" Aurora half-mumbled then trailed off. She clutched her books even tighter and looked at her flats, noticing a little scrape on the black leather. She needed to get her shoes polished, she thought. She didn't want to look up because she was a tall girl and she'd have looked right into his eyes, and that would have made her feel even more uncomfortable.

The boy just muttered a "thanks" and walked into the classroom, leaving her at the door. Right…

* * *

"Dude, did do your Math homework?" Mulan asked Meg, secretly hoping she hasn't.

"Hah! This time I did do my Math homework, so she'd better check it." Meg whipped out her Math notebook with pride.

"Can I copy yours? 'Cuz I left it at my locker and forgot to bring it home…" Mulan mumbled the last sentence, hoping Meg won't catch that. Being the ditz she was, Mulan completely forgot to bring her Math notebook home to finish those algebra sums. Stupid! She knew she'd forgotten something, but she didn't realize it until just now. She rarely copied other people's homework because she knew how to work on her own, but this one time she forgot… What if the Math teacher actually checks their homework this time? She didn't want her perfect record ruined because of her forgetfulness. She worked way too hard this year to keep a straight record, she was OCD about this sort of stuff. And Meg would soooo whip her ass…

Unfortunately, Meg did catch that last sentence. "Oh, I'm sorry… What was that?" Meg cupped her ears, "Someone forgot to finish their Math homework? Noooo!" she gasped in fake pity. "And did I hear something about wanting to copy _my_ Math homework?" Meg looked around and then at Mulan, "Oh wait, that's you! Suck it! Suuuckk iiiittt!" Her voice went falsetto just to take the extra mile of mocking Mulan. Meg started to cackle evilly.

"Come on! Pleeease? Just his one time? I really forgot!" Mulan begged.

"Not even if you get down on your knees, will I let you copy my homework. This is my once in a lifetime chance for payback! For all those times you rejected me, 'Nooo, do your own work, Meg!', 'Stop being so lazy, Meg!'" Meg mimicked Mulan.

"You're a bitch," Mulan spat bitterly.

"I know! I never knew completing homework could hold so much power, so much satisfaction. Wow, I should do my homework more often." Meg remarked. "So suck it!" And she held the notebook in front of Mulan's face triumphantly and waved it around to rub it in her face.

_Girl, you ain't gonna let her win, are ya'?_

_This is so unfair! But no, I can't let Meg win! I won't!_

_You go, girl! Teach that bitch! Whoop her sorry ass!_

Mulan shot her hand out to grab Meg's notebook, but Meg saw it coming and retreated just in time.

"Uh, uh, uh." Meg motioned her index finger from side to side.

"Give it!" Mulan tried to sound authoritative, but it came out more like a whine.

Meg dangled the book above Mulan, since she was slightly taller than her. "Aw… who's a goooood boy? Do you want this book? Do you? Come and get it!" said Meg, baby-talking to Mulan.

"Don't make me punch you!" Mulan threatened.

"You're gonna punch your best friend for Math homework?" Meg provoked.

Mulan narrowed her eyes. As much as she wanted to, she certainly couldn't punch her best friend. Using her skills to beat up her BFF would be a real low-blow.

_But…_

Meg didn't expect what came next as Mulan shot both hands out to tickle Meg. She immediately shrieked and dropped the notebook. Mulan continued to tickle Meg mercilessly to weaken her opponent.

"Stahp! Heehee, stop it!" she cried, whilst in a fit of laughs. Mulan brought Meg down to ground as she was almost being tickled to the point of tears. Out of her own reflexes, Meg accidentally kicked Mulan in the gut.

"Ow!" Mulan paused then narrowed her eyes, "That's it! No more Mr. Nice-guy!" Mulan declared and was ready to bring the tickling up a notch. Meg quickly crawled up to a sitting position and brought her arms up in defense. "Bring it, biatch!"

Mulan reached into her backpack and took out her squirty water bottle and aimed at Meg. Meg grabbed a long ruler from the desk next to where she was crouched, not that it was much of a weapon compared to Mulan's.

Mulan smiled evilly and shouted, "Water bottle, I choose yoooouuu!" She began spraying Meg and Meg shrieked.

Just then, a figure walked into the classroom. He stopped dead in his tracks and said, "You've got to be kidding me."

Mulan spun around and her eyes widened in surprise.

"You!" was all she could manage.

Meg absorbed the scene before her, seeing the boy and Mulan's reaction, putting two and two together… "Hoooly shit! Ohohohohoho, shiiiiiit!" Meg tried to hold in her laughter but she hugged Mulan from behind and started laughing into her shoulder. "Crap, girl! Oh snap!"

_What the heck is he doing here?!_

_Aw snap indeed, girl!_

_Of all people… why is he here?! God, this is so freaking embarrassing?!_

_Girlfriend, did he interrupt yo' playtime?_

_Shut up!_

"Shut up!" Mulan shushed Meg. She just continued guffawing into Mulan's shoulder.

The boy face-palmed himself then rolled his eyes. He gave the girls a sour look and proceeded to navigate his way to an empty seat near the back of the class, which was a row and two seats behind where Mulan and Meg sit. He folded his arms onto his desk and put his head down, whilst letting out a long groan. This was going to be a _long_ day, he thought.

* * *

Kida let out a sigh of relief. After shuffling like a fool in the toilet for five minutes, she finally realized that those girls crowded in there weren't actually lining up for the toilet but just fixing their hair, or re-applying their makeup. Some were even just hanging around in the toilet. Huh, and _they_ were the ones giving her funny looks. Kida certainly didn't understand the teenage girl culture of hair fixing or makeup putting. Those girls would just ruffle their hair and twirl their fringes; not that after one trip to the toilet made their hair look any different anyway. And those thick liquids and powder they put on, how does it even make them look attractive? If anything, those foolish girls actually look worse.

She did her business and went straight to class since break was almost over and she hated to be late for Math. When she walked in, she quickly spotted her two good friends. They were both whispering to each other. Kida wondered if Mulan was "spilling" more secrets to Meg and whether she herself was permitted to learn of her friends' secrets. She then noticed an unfamiliar presence in the room; a boy sat near the back of the classroom with his head down.

Kida walked over to her friends, "Who is that boy?" and pointed at him.

"Shhhh!" Mulan grabbed Kida's arm and pulled her into the seat next to hers. "Not so loud!" Mulan whispered.

"He's new! And guess who he is?" Meg giggled. "Guess! You'll never believe it!"

Kida pondered then answered, "Your brother?"

"What? I don't have a brother. Well, I mean I have a dog named Little Brother. But no?!"

"It's Mulan's pretty boy! The guy she was telling us about, the one she beat up on Sunday! What's-his-name!" Meg blurted.

"Oh! Shang Li? I can believe it."

"Ssshhhh!" Mulan shushed Kida. "And it's Li Shang, not Shang Li. Chinese people's surnames comes first." Mulan started biting her lips and pulling at her own hair. "God, this is so beyond embarrassing!"

"You should greet him. Perhaps it'll lighten up the mood?" Kida suggested.

"Great idea, Kida!" Meg's antennas for mischief immediately shot up. This was too good to be true! Now she has the power to antagonize Mulan to no end because that's what best friends do. She got up and started pulling Mulan out of her seat. "Go on… say hi!"

"No! Stop!" Mulan tried clinging onto the table but once Meg started dragging her away, it made an awful scraping noise so she had to let go. "Kida, help me!" she pleaded.

"This is actually very entertaining! I won't interrupt you," Kida chuckled. Plus she loved being a spectator to Meg's mischief.

"Go on, be nice!" Meg said slyly. And she shoved Mulan towards the boy. Mulan hit the corner of a table then having her own clumsy feet betray her, tripped and fell right onto the side of the new student.

_Shit._

_Now you done it, girl! You woke the dragon!_

_Shitshitshitshitshit._

The boy looked up and the moment their eyes met, one felt complete and utter bliss mixed with mortification, and the other full of loathing.

"Hehe…" It took Mulan a moment to regain herself. Well, sort of.

"I am so, soooo sorry! I didn't mean to like land on you, it was an accident, like... I'm soooo sorry! Um, I'm Mulan by the way… You must be Shang, because we met yesterday... Can I call you Shang? Hehe… Um, welcome to our school? Heh…" She couldn't stop herself from rambling. Why did she have to be such a moron around guys? Especially handsome, Chinese ones... Which were really rare… "Did I mention I'm reaaally sorry?" Mulan could feel herself blushing, well more like burning up to the point where you could fry an egg on her face or roast 'smores.

_Great going, Mulan. Now he definitely thinks you're a complete retard. Might as well shoot yourself in the head._

Meg and Kida giggled in the background, well Meg was more like snorting which wasn't very elegant. Mulan looked at them and shot them a death-glare; or rather a look as deadly as she could muster. Shang just rolled his eyes and ignored her, returning to his brooding.

"Ok…" Mulan awkwardly scrambled back to her friends, almost tripping on her face in the process. She stayed silent for a long moment until the teacher came into the classroom.

_Shit, my Math homework! Well, there goes my dignity and my perfect record._

"Not. A. Single. Word." Mulan gave both Kida and Meg a tell-this-to-anyone-else-and-I'll-kill-you face.

"Sure. Cross my heart! Boy scout's honour," Meg crossed her chest and snickered. Mulan smacked her arm.

Kida was about to sit back down when she realized the seat was taken by another person.

"Excuse me, I was sitting here first."

"Well too bad. Finders keepers! Sit somewhere else, dork," the boy in her seat jeered.

The boy was being unreasonably rude, and Kida hated rude people. Well, to be honest she was easily annoyed at a lot of things, being short tempered and all, and this boy had set her fuse alight. She grabbed him by his collar and looked right into the little pest's eyes, "Apologize. Now!"

"Dude, what's the deal you crazy bitch?!"

The teacher rushed over immediately after seeing Kida react so dramatically. Thinking it was her fault for threatening another student, she sent Kida to the back of the classroom to sit next to a Milo Thatch. A boy whom she rarely ever talked to, correction, rarely anyone talked to. After much protesting, a defending from Mulan with no success, Kida gave in and just sat in grumpy silence.

The lesson started as the teacher announced that they were starting a new unit on logarithms. She instructed everyone to divide into pairs for a presentation that was due next lesson. The teacher received a chorus of groans as she began to explain their presentation had to be on logarithms and its applications in real life.

Shang looked around to see if there were anyone left to partner up with, unfortunately and fortunately, there weren't. He much preferred working alone anyway, usually people he worked with were free-loaders and he'd end up doing all the work. The teacher instructed everyone to start researching and walked over to Shang to update him on what the class has been learning this past year. He's pretty done everything they've done and more in his old school, so he had no problem catching up. And he's done lots of presentation before anyway, so this was a piece of cake.

Everyone whipped out their laptops to start researching, by "researching" I mean facebooking, going on tumblr, playing online games or even doing homework from other classes that was due in the next lesson.

"Well, looks like I'm stuck with you," Milo said to Kida, though he sounded more excited than bitter.

"Yes, it would appear so," Kida answered with indifference.

Barely anyone sits with Milo Thatch because everyone thought he was weird and such a dork for wearing big and rounder-than-Harry-Potter glasses. Milo would actually have loved to replace his father's hand-me-down glasses for something more current, but not Ray-Bans because didn't want to look like a hipster, just anything less round. He also had a habit of scribbling furiously into his favourite little notebook, and students would think the shy boy was probably plotting everyone's murder. They were actually just doodles and enigmas that he tries to decipher; it was just one of his hobbies. Sometimes he'd get his notebook confiscated, but when the teachers realize he was just writing gibberish and not up to anything sinister, they'd just return him his notebook and give him a warning.

He set up his work station with his laptop and scruffy-looking notebook. "Wait, I got it! Yes!" he suddenly cried and scribbled furiously in one of them. Kida looked at him with curiosity. What an odd boy, she thought.

"What are you writing?" she asked him.

Milo quickly snapped his notebook shut, "Oh nothing, just um… formulas amongst other geeky things. Personal stuff."

Kida snatched up his book to see for herself. "Hey!" Milo protested.

Kida began flipping through his notebook. Milo cringed, prepared for her to start judging him. Surprisingly it wasn't his personal journal or anything she expected. Milo's notebook did contain lots of formulas, puzzles, doodles, random scribbles and sometimes pages full of writing. The boy had really neat hand writing but it was just the way everything was smushed together that made it look messy. She flipped through with fascination and pointed at one grid with random letters, "What is this? Is this a Caesar cipher?"

Milo looked at her with astonishment, not only did she _not_ judge him for his bizarreness, but she actually knew what he was talking about. "Um, yeah! How'd you know?"

"Oh, puzzles just fascinate me. You are a most eccentric boy, Milo Thatch," Kida said and continued to flip through his book.

"Thanks…? It's just a personal hobby, that's all. You know, amongst other geeky things? Yeah…" Milo took his notebook back shyly, but in his mind he was over the moon. A girl complimented him! Holy cow!

"What geeky things?"

"You know, math stuff, cryptography, writings, uh… Klingon?"

"What is Klingon?"

"Oh, nothing… nothing…"

"How is Math considered 'geeky', I do not understand. I like Math, does that make me a geek?" Kida thought out loud.

Milo just stared at her. A girl that likes Math, a girl that would talk to him that likes Math and puzzles. What universe was she from? And where have you been all my life, Milo thought.

Kida did indeed like Math, it was one of the few subjects she excelled at, since languages wasn't her forte. Besides, even in other languages, Math is math. It was straight-forward and easy to understand, unlike English. English is hard.

"N-no, you're definitely not a geek," Milo smiled.

"And what do you write about, Milo Thatch?"

"Oh, just some fan fiction amongst other things… English and Math happen to be my favourite subjects."

"I do not like English. It is complicating," Kida stated.

Milo's face fell a little. He was looking at something more complicating already, and her silver hair made her glow like an angel. "Um… so do you have a laptop…? Or should we…" Milo trailed off before he said the word "share". It's been a while since he's shared something, anything with a girl besides a seat. Please say no, please say no, Milo thought.

"No, I do not."

Yes!

"I guess, we can share mine?" Milo suggested.

"Yes, that would be most kind of you," Kida smiled politely. Sitting next to this nice boy had already made her forget that she was forced to sit here in the first place.

They looked through some stuff about logarithms and talked more about Math until the bell rang. They were the only pair of people who actually bothered to work on the presentation. By the end of class, Milo Thatch has already decided he was head-over-heels for this vexing girl named Kida.

* * *

Belle scoured through her backpack for a book. She just finished a wonderful book and now she felt so hollow and empty on the inside like nothing was ever going fill that crater. Well, that is until the next book in the series comes out, but that won't be until summer. The waiting was the most annoying part, and now Belle doesn't know what to do with her life.

She brought four books with her to school, not that she could finish them all within one day, but sometimes teachers would confiscate her books for reading in class so she needed backup. Three was the average number, sometimes she'd bring more depending on the thickness and heaviness. It was books like these that made her backpack awfully heavy all the time, but she was too stubborn to bring less. It's just a _thing_, and she just _had_ to bring books to school. Even if she weren't at school and it was just a trip to the mall, she _had_ to bring at least one book.

She finally decided on a book and took out her dog-eared copy of Pride and Prejudice. It was one of her favourite novels and she could never get sick of the wittiness of Elizabeth Bennet. Belle was a sucker for Romance stories, and hopeless romantic although she would never admit it to anyone. She dreamed one day that a charming boy with an equal passion for reading would sweep her off her feet and they'd do cheesy, romantic things like the things she's read from her novels.

"Psst, Belle!" Snow White gently nudged Belle from her thoughts, "How do you do number four?" she whispered.

"Oh, that's easy. Here," Belle tapped on her answer on her notebook and returned to her book. She didn't have anything against Snow, she was a sweet girl but a little off the bright side. They quickly came together as friends for History class because neither of their friends from their own cliques were in the same class. The teacher threatened that if the students didn't finish the questions on the worksheet before the end of class, everyone has to stay during lunchtime until everyone was finished. But Belle was already finished with her questions five minutes ago, so she was free to read.

Belle flipped open her book and caressed the pages, she took a light sniff and she sighed. It was a weird habit but, she just loved the musty smell of books. Just as she was about to dive into her second book of the day, someone kicked her chair.

"Hey!" she turned around found the culprit was a boy named Adam.

He looked at her through his curtain of long hair as if it was her fault that she got kicked.

"Why'd you do that?!" she whispered.

"I didn't." He simply answered and returned to his book.

"Yes, you did!" She insisted, "You're sitting right behind me!"

"Whatever."

"Ugh. Nevermind." It was obvious there was no getting through to this boy. What was his problem anyway?

Belle dismissed it and continued to read. After about a page, there was another kick to her chair. Now she was beginning to get annoyed, "Stop it!" she spun around and shot Adam a dirty look. She returned to her book and after about a few more pages, her chair was attacked again. Belle considered herself quite a zen person, but when it came to disturbing her whilst reading, it ticks her off.

"Stop it! What do you want?!"

"Stop what?" Adam asked nonchalantly.

"Stop kicking my chair!"

"I didn't kick your chair," he said through gritted teeth. He looked right into her eyes and it made Belle shift uneasily.

"You just… what is your problem?" she fumed.

"You. I didn't kick you." Was all he said.

"You know what, I will ignore you now," Belle huffed. She was clearly wasting her time with this rude boy who won't even simply just admit and apologize for kicking her chair.

She started reading again but her thoughts were too distracted and clouded with irritation to focus on anything. When the bell finally rang, she sped out of class, heading for the canteen when suddenly there was a tap on her shoulder. She turned around heatedly and it was that boy Adam. He was the last person she wanted to see, what does he want now?

"What?!" Belle slipped in a little attitude, something she picked up from Meg. Her snappy tone surprised even herself. She looked up at Adam, she felt a little intimidated because he was much taller than her and he had a dark gleam in his eyes.

"You forgot your pen." He simply handed her a pen and stalked off the other way.

Belle looked at it. This wasn't her pen.

"Hey! This isn't my pen!" she half-yelled back to him. Seriously, what was this boy's problem? It's so hard to get a read on him; first he kicks her chair multiple times and denies it, now he's returning a pen that doesn't belong to her? Huh, and she thought _she_ was the dismissive, aloof type.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Yay, a second chapter :D So this one has a little more explaining in it. I introduced Milo and Adam. What do you think of them? I didn't make up Milo's "hobbies" because he looked like a geek or anything, I just based them off the Disney wikia, which is where I'm doing all my character research :3 As for Adam, you'll see later why he's acting funny ;)**

**I had a lot of fun writing the Mulan-Meg scene, they're both one of my favourites to write mostly because their characters have really good chemistry.**

**So tell me what you guys think! Comments are appreciated :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Lunchtime!

**This entire fanfic is dedicated to Nina-D-lux and those of you who still has a little princess deep inside and never actually got over your Princess-phase :P**

Chapter 3

Hercules was very proud of himself, being the most athletic person in the school he was the first to arrive at the canteen. And he saved a nice table for him and his friends; it was a big table that could fit almost eight people, well seven, since Hercules was like one and a half of a person. Not that Hercules had seven other friends to sit with, but maybe Quasi's pretty friend, Esmeralda and her other Junior friends would join them for lunch again.

He took out his neatly packed lunch box. He uncovered it and two big sandwiches stared back at him, it was still warm but the bread was a little soggy from the moisture. The smell of melted cheese wafted as Hercules took a giant sniff and smiled. Oh mom, you didn't have to, he thought. Lunch was chicken, tomato and lettuce, topped with melted mozzarella. Hercules felt spoiled by his mother since she insisted on packing him lunch every day. He felt like a kid and it's probably pretty lame for moms to still pack a high school student's lunch, but a nice, cheesy sandwich beats the lousy canteen food. Hercules took a bite and he cracked a smile of utter bliss. Sweet cheesus…

Not a moment too soon, Quasi came along with Milo who propped his leather bag onto the table.

"Hey!" Milo greeted his friend enthusiastically.

"Hey, Milo! Quasi!" Hercules greeted in return with equal enthusiasm, "You're cheery," he observed.

"Yeah…" Milo sighed dreamily as he took his sandwich out of his bag.

"Oh hey, Quasi… Is your friend Esmeralda and her other friends coming for lunch?" Hercules asked.

"Oh, no… I don't think so," Quasi answered. He looked a little bummed out, but the sad expression quickly flitted over and he put on a smile again. Hercules felt a little disappointed too, but oh well, those girls only sat with them occasionally. "So…" Quasi said to change the subject, "What's up with you, Milo? You're rarely this cheery, have you solved another puzzle?"

"Oh no, nononono." Milo chuckled, "If anything, a new and really hard one just came up. But she's amazing…" he trailed off and sighed.

"A she?" Hercules and Quasi said in unison. They were surprised because Milo was rarely into girls.

"Yeah…" Milo smiled then took a bite from his sandwich.

"Wow, what makes her so special? You never like girls," Quasi asked, while taking out his lunch which was also a sandwich.

"Hey! We're all having sandwiches for lunch!" Hercules stated the obvious. In truth, all three boys had their sandwiches packed at home. Milo's was packed by his maid (well, it was more like his grandfather's maid, or _maids _because he was very well-off), and Quasi by his mom. This was only one of the reasons that made these boys in the bottom of the social pyramid of pretty much the entire school among many others. In short, they were social-retards. So naturally they banded together and formed their own little group. It was an odd mix indeed; a geek, an athlete and a physically less attractive fellow. But if there was one word that could sum these guys up, it was "nice". Guess nice guys _do_ finish last.

"Gosh, I don't know…" Milo smiled, wider than his big glasses.

"Who is she?" Hercules asked.

"Oh, it's Kida." Milo sighed as he said her name. He felt pretty comfortable just telling his friends since none of them had anything to hide from each other. They were just good, kind, honest boys.

"Who's Kida?" Quasi asked. He was a junior so he wasn't so familiar with all the sophomores.

"Uh…' Hercules scanned the crowding canteen; he spotted Kida a few tables over with her friends. "There! Her! The one with the silver hair!" he said a little too loudly causing heads to turn. "Hey, she's on the track team with me!" he suddenly remembered.

"She runs too? Gosh…" Milo smiled again.

"Hey look, those weirdoes are pointing at you, Kida!" Meg observed, "Wonder what they want?"

Kida looked over to where Meg was pointing and saw a table of three boys staring and talking about what she assumed was herself. She recognized one of them as Milo Thatch and she waved at him. Milo instantly waved back, but he was shaking his hands so fast he looked like his arm was having a seizure. His friends laughed at how goofy Milo was behaving.

"Since when are you friends with Milo Thatch?" Meg questioned.

"Oh we sat together during math. He is a nice boy, very smart too," Kida explained in a neutral tone.

"He seems to think more of it," Meg smiled mischievously.

"He is only a friend," Kida dismissed Meg's remark.

"Sure…" Meg raised her eyebrows.

Mulan's eyes suddenly widened, she smirked then went "Hah!"

"What?" Meg looked at her quizzically.

"She forgot to check our math homework! Yes, it won't go down on record! Hell yeaaahhh!" Mulan chirped in a sing-song voice, whilst fist-pumping.

"Dammit!" Meg smacked Mulan. This girl is too damn lucky, Meg thought.

Just then, a disgruntled Meri arrived with an irked Belle. Meri was always grunting one way or another. But Belle was supposed to be the calmest of them all, and right now, she looked the opposite of calm. Her friends could obviously sense something was very wrong since she looked even more annoyed than Meri, and _that_ was saying something.

Meri plunked into the seat next to Kida, "I flunked my test, don't ask," was all she said. Ugh, her mom was _so_ going to kill her.

Her friends didn't bother to inquire on and looked at Belle to start explaining why she was so upset.

Belle put her chin on the table and looked at them. Suddenly she just started ranting off, "Ugh. This stupid boy, Adam! HekeptkickingmychairduringclassandIdon'tevenknowwh yhekeptkickingmebuthejustdid! SoItriedtomakehimapologizebuthewon'tevenadmitthath ekickedmewhenitwassoobviousthathewastheonewhokicke dme! Ugh! Itwasannoyingbecausehekeptinterruptingmyreading! Three times! He kicked me three times!" She huffed then blew a strand of hair out of her face.

Her friends gave Belle a look of utter confusion. Meg was the first to break the silence, "What the what? I just heard Adam blahblahblah 'Ugh!' blahblahblah 'He kicked me three times!'

"Never mind," Belle pouted frustratingly. She didn't feel like repeating her rant. And now that she thought about it, it was pretty dumb reason to get pissed off. I mean sure, he kicked her chair like three times, but Belle knew that deep down she was just really pissed because he interrupted her reading. And she hated it when people interrupted her; it's just a _thing_. You do _not_ interrupt Belle while she was reading excellent books.

Mulan looked like she was the only one who half-understood what she was saying, "Oh… That's so mean! He kicked you three times and still won't apologise? What an ass."

"I know! And he then the weirdest part was, he went up to me after class and 'returned' a pen that didn't belong to me." Belle took out the pen from her pocket and showed it to her friends.

"That is odd," Kida remarked. Meri had her head down so she just grunted in agreement.

Meg shrugged, "Adam was always a little… off." And she shook her hand in a so-so gesture. "Well, woe is me! Let's eat!"

"When you say 'let's eat', you mean 'Hey, let's nibble off everyone else's lunch because I don't have any', right?" Mulan gave her a look. But she was just messing with her friend.

Meg just smiled and replied with a snappy "yeah". They were all used to Meg eating off their lunches since they were aware that Meg's mom couldn't always provide her food for lunch, barely even money for a small snack. So she was welcome to free-load on their lunches.

Meri took out her lunch box. "Yes! Lasagna!" She took a bite then spat it back out, "Yuck, vegetable lasagna! Stupid meat-free Monday!" Meri's mother insisted the family go on a meat-free diet every Monday because it was quote-unquote healthier and more environmentally friendly. Yeah, but you don't have to take it out the lasagna, Meri thought. It's lasagna, for crying out loud! Putting vegetables defeats the purpose of a good lasagna, Meri thought. She pushed her lunch box away disgustingly.

Meg seeing discarded food, swoops in like a vulture and takes Meri's lunch box. She takes a bite and moans. "Mmmm, this is sooo good." She then realizes that she never actually had Meri's permission to eat, "Um, I can eat this… right?" Meg said in half-chew.

"Go ahead," Meri gave her the all-clear and Meg dove right in.

"You know, vegetables are good for you," Meg said.

"Ugh, shut up and eat Meg. You sound just like my mother," Meri rolled her eyes.

* * *

Shang scanned the canteen for an empty seat. Make that an entire empty table he can have to himself since he was in no mood to make conversation with anyone. But so far none were available. There was one guy who had an entire table to himself in the corner of the canteen, a desirable spot for Shang and he wouldn't have minded sharing except he was picking his nose. Yeah, no. Maybe he should just go outside and find a bench, quickly finish his lunch then work on his Math project since he had nothing better to do.

Just as Shang was about to head out of the canteen, a big guy with ginger hair stopped him. What now, Shang thought. "Hey! Uh… Shang, right?" Hercules asked.

"Yeah…"

"Um… my friend here wanted to know if you wanna sit with us…" Hercules gestured to Milo who waved awkwardly at Shang. "Since you looked like you could use a seat…" Milo smiled.

Shang recognized him from math. Why does he care?

"Um… no thanks. I'll just sit somewhere else…"

"No, really! It's ok! Sit with us!" Milo insisted hospitably. Shang really wanted to refuse their offer, but he didn't want to be rude especially when the guy was being so kind. Fine, whatever. A little conversation won't hurt.

"Ok." And with that, Shang sat with them.

"I'm Hercules!' Hercules grabbed Shang's hand and shook it vigorously.

"Um, Milo… You probably remember me from Math…" Milo smiled.

"And this here, is Quasimodo!" Hercules introduced Quasi enthusiastically, "He's a junior, but he's cool," he added.

Quasi smiled politely, "Hey. Just call me Quasi."

Shang looked at these boys and guessed they were probably labeled as the "losers" of this school. Well, not that he was _somebody_ in his old school; he barely climbed the social ladder. He was always just… there. Quiet, reserved, smart… somewhere in the background and he intended to keep it that way. He quietly ate his lunch when the interrogating began.

"So Shang… you're new, right? Which school were you from?" Hercules asked.

"Um… that boys school across town."

"Hey, isn't that where they send those preppy, rich boys? How come you don't go there, Milo?" Hercules piped up.

Shang winced at the word "preppy". He was _not_ preppy or rich. His family does okay, that's all. Milo just shrugged, "It's just not me… I can't really see myself in blazers and all that fancy stuff." Yeah, that was one thing Shang hated about his old school. It was stifling.

"So why'd you move schools?" Quasi asked.

"The teachers were terrible." It was true, as much as he paid for an education there, the quality wasn't great. The teachers would just drone on and you can barely learn anything. Sure, they have fancy degrees and all that, but they couldn't teach. The only reason why the boys had top grades and top notch everything was because of tutouring and other activities outside school.

Naveen browsed through today's selection. Veggies, vegetarian, veggies, veggies, processed vegetarian crap, deep fried vegetarian crap, yuck, and ooh look, _more_ veggies. If the school really wanted to help save the environment, maybe they should stop printing tons of worksheets, booklets, leaflets and posters, instead of cutting the 'quality' food the students deserve. With all the hype about "going-green", the school has taken a stand on the students' diet and decided that every Monday's food in the canteen be meat-free.

Naveen missed the old days when his maid would bring him lunch. The chef at home would cook whatever he wanted and his maid would send it to school during lunchtime while the food was still nice and hot. But that was elementary and this was high school, and he didn't want to come off like a spoiled wimp who needs to be served in school at the age of seventeen. That'd cramp his style.

He was next in the lunch line with Phoebus right behind him. Then he heard a familiar laugh not too far away. Esmeralda! His hormones immediately kicked into high gear as he ditched the lunch line and yelled back to Phoebus, "Hold my spot!"

"Dude!" What is the bastard up to now, Phoebus thought.

Esmeralda walked into the canteen with Tiana and Lottie. Naveen advanced towards them. He slipped in between Tiana and Esmeralda and slung an arm over her shoulders, guiding her to the front of the lunch line.

"Esmeralda, lemme buy you to lunch! Anything you want, it's on me!"

"Haaaay Naveen," Lottie giggled at the sight of him, but Naveen ignored her completely.

Once Phoebus spotted them, he gleamed at Esmeralda, "There you are! Why, I was afraid you'd be lost m'lady. Naveen can be such an idiot. Here, allow me…" He brought her right in front of the lunch selection, taking over Naveen's game.

Tiana reluctantly tagged along, while Lottie bounded after Naveen. Esmeralda's eyes flitted over to today's lunch. The first thing she spotted were deep fried vegetarian sausages floating in what they claim to be vegetarian gravy. Eww.

Esmeralda slipped away from Naveen and Phoebus' eager clutches, "Yeah, no." And she began strutting off the opposite direction.

"But vegetables are good you for you," Naveen added.

"Then you should eat some," Esmeralda turned back with a saucy smile.

"Aren't we eating with them?" Lottie asked with a hint of disappointment.

"Nope. Come on." Esmeralda dragged Lottie away with the help of Tiana.

Damn, Naveen thought. Esmeralda, you little minx, you.

"Move it, kid! I ain't got all day!" the lunch lady yelled, bringing Naveen back from his thoughts. A line was forming behind them with lots of impatient, hungry students. He quickly took a juice box and paid for it by the cashier.

Back at Shang's, he was actually somewhat enjoying the company of those boys. They were being really nice, and they're probably the nicest guys he's ever met. That Hercules guy was a little more enthusiastic than he'd like, but if he could handle Yao, Ling and Chien Po, he could handle Hercules. The guys were explaining to him stuff about school, how things work, how the teachers are, the people are… Surprisingly, for a bunch of "losers" they knew a lot about everything.

Then the ambience was kind of ruined for Shang when three girls crashed into their little party.

"Hey Quasi! Hey guys! Thanks for saving us a seat!" Esmeralda said thankfully, being the spokesperson of the trio. She quickly sat herself next to Quasi.

"No problem!" Hercules smiled his widest. He was really that glad they could make it.

"Yeah, we would have come sooner if _someone_ hadn't insisted on staying after class to ask about 'homework'?!" Tiana shot Lottie a look of annoyance. Of course they knew that wasn't their friend's true intention for lingering after class.

"What?! Hey, I really didn't know how to do that last question!" Lottie lied.

Tiana raised her eyebrows, giving the "Oh, really" look. Even teachers, Lottie was hitting on. Her best friend was hopeless.

Shang stayed silent and had his head down the entire time until Esmeralda suddenly noticed his presence, "Hey! I've never seen you before! Are you new?"

"Yeah."

"That's Shang. He's a sophomore, it's his first day," Quasi explained.

"Ah… well how are you liking it here Shang?" Esmeralda asked genuinely.

"It's ok." Hah, no it wasn't. The whole day's been really awkward up until lunch.

"Oh, I'm Esmeralda, by the way. This is Tiana, and Charlotte." She gestured to her friends.

Tiana gave Shang a smile, "Hey."

"Heya! Just call me Lottie," she giggled. "How old did you say you were?" She was so checking Shang out.

"I didn't."

"Oh, ok," Lottie said, feeling a little put off.

* * *

"Dude, we need to work on that math presentation," Mulan reminded Meg.

"Oh that? Meh." It was so Meg to forget and not even bother. Mulan usually ended up doing most of the work but when it came to presenting, Meg was great with thinking on her feet. In short, Meg's BS skills were great.

"Speaking of math…" Meg eyed Mulan, "Guess who we saw todaaaay?" She let the last word drag.

Mulan eyes widened and quickly kicked Meg's leg under the table. She looked Meg right in the eyes and they had an eye-to-eye, mental conversation.

_"Shut up!" _

_"Nope, this is payback from math, bitch!"_ Meg's eyes narrowed.

_"I will kill you!"_

_"Pff, like they won't find out eventually!"_

But Kida beat her to it, "Mulan saw Shang in school today. He's the new student."

"Kida!' Mulan miffed.

"Wasn't that the boy you were telling us about this morning?" Meri smirked.

"No?! No! Pff, that guy doesn't even go here… This new kid's like some other guy…" Mulan lied, obviously not convincing anyone.

"See? It's fate! One moment he's a stranger getting his butt kicked, the next he's here with you in school! You're meant to be together!' Meg pointed at Mulan with her fork.

"Thanks a lot, Kida!" Mulan glared at her accusingly.

"You're welcome."

"Heeeey! There he is now with Milo and those other dorks!" Meg pointed over.

All the girls craned their necks to check out the new boy. Mulan blushed when she caught sight of Shang. God he was certainly nice to look at.

Meri pulled a not-bad face and nodded in approval. Belle just chuckled, "So that's what all the fuss is about."

"Eck, and there goes that slut Esmeralda and her friends, the walking Barbie doll," Meg sneered.

They looked again and saw Esmeralda arrive with Tiana and Lottie at their tables.

"Your pretty boy is quick with friends," Meg pointed out. Mulan's face fell a bit. How was she to compete against the likes of Esmeralda?

Just then, Milo caught the girls staring at them. His glasses accidentally slipped off the bridge of his nose into his sandwich. He fumbled awkwardly with his glasses, half-smeared with mayonnaise and waved at Kida. She just waved back again. His friends all snickered at his clumsy display and glanced at Kida.

"He so likes you," Meg cut in.

"Yeah, someone has taken a short-sighted eye for the short-tempered Kida," Meri chimed in.

"He does not like me and I certainly do not have feelings for this boy," Kida stated clearly.

"You certainly have my blessings," Belle chuckled, "He's probably one of the most decent boys in school. Good for you, Kida!"

Kida simply shook her head at her friends' ridiculous assumptions.

* * *

Aurora clutched her books in one arm and held her thermos, trying to balance all her stuff. Almost there, she thought. She already located her blonde and black-haired friends sitting on the far side of the canteen. Her arms were already sore from the heavy load, having to walk from one wing of the school, where her locker was, to another where the canteen was.

Snow spotted her and waved Aurora over. She wove through the tables, too focused on trying to hold her stuff together to see a stray banana peel on the ground. In the blink of an eye, Aurora's books went flying and she landed with a hard thud on her butt. She let out a scream as half the canteen turned around to see what happened. Her legs were splayed out awkwardly; luckily she didn't twist any ankles, nothing seemed broken. She blushed as all eyes settled on her. Aurora quickly fixed her skirt and smoothed out her shirt. Gosh, banana peels are seriously slippery, these things are lethal. And she thought their deadliness were just a myth on TV, but no, she just felt the full wrath of a seemingly innocent banana peel. Who was littering?!

Just as she was about to crawl awkwardly and pick up the nearest book, a hand shot out in assistance.

"Are you okay?"

Aurora looked up, it was Philip. He looked very concerned.

"Um, yeah…" She took his hand and he pulled her up gently. "-Ow- yeah, I'm okay…" Her tailbone hurt from the landing.

Someone let out a whistle in the background at Philip's act of chivalry. Aurora blushed. That's what you get for being saved by none other than the captain of the cheerleaders. She was attracting a lot of unwanted attention.

"Um, thanks… I can take it from here…" Aurora bent down to pick her book up but Philip picked it up before she could.

"It's okay, I got it," he said, "Besides, you're hurt. Let me handle it." Philip picked up all her books and bounded a few tables over where her thermos slid to and picked it up too. Aurora just wanted to hide under a table and hope that everyone forgot she existed. People were still staring at her. Why was Philip being so nice to her? Was this even necessary?

Once he got all her stuff, Philip insisted on carrying them to her table. "Where do you sit? Let me take these to your table."

"I, uh…" Aurora just led Philip over to where Snow and Cindy were sitting. She passed a few students who gave her funny looks. Gosh, they must think me such a brat, Aurora thought. Needing the captain of the cheerleaders to carry my stuff, gosh so embarrassing! It's not like I purposely slipped so I can be rescued!

He put her stuff down on the table. "Here you go. I hope you'll feel better. If you need anything, just ask." Philip smiled at her sheepishly.

"Um... Thanks again…" Aurora mumbled. He looked at her tenderly one last time and went back to his table. Doesn't she know how cute she looks when she blushes, Philip thought to himself.

Snow and Cindy just stared at their friend and giggled. When Philip was out of earshot Snow just burst out, "Omigosh! You so have to go out with him! That is like the sweetest thing I've ever seen! Gosh, I wish I had a guy that would care for me like that!"

"You guys! Shush!" Aurora gave her friends pleading looks to keep their mouths shut.

"You know he has like the biggest crush on you, right?" Cindy said.

"No he doesn't! He's just nice! In fact, other boys should follow in his example and help out more often!" Aurora refused to believe what Cindy said.

"Well, anyways. We've been waiting forever for you to arrive! What took you so long?" Snow asked.

"I had to stay behind and help the teacher put the workbooks away," Aurora explained.

"They need to give you a break! It's not like you're their slave or anything," Cindy said.

"I know! That's what I think too! But I can't just say no to my teachers, they're… teachers!" Aurora simply wasn't the defiant type.

"Anyways, while you weren't here, Cindy and I were talking about hanging at my place later on after school," Snow grinned. Aurora remembered her mentioning this earlier, but they never had the chance to revise this plan since Aurora hasn't seen them since first period.

"I'm going," Cindy said.

"Pleeease come?" Snow begged with her puppy eyes, hoping to persuade her friend. "It'll only be the three of us! No dad or Doris. Mom will be too busy to care."

Aurora thought about it. "Pleeeease? Pretty please?" Snow begged.

"You can do your homework at her place…?" Cindy tried to help.

"I'll bake you pie? My special apple pie?" Snow hoped to bribe her friend, plus no one could resist her pies.

"Okay, okay," Aurora gave in. There was no use saying no to those eyes and especially the pie. And Cindy was right; she could always just do her homework at Snow's.

"Yay!" Snow gave Aurora a tight hug.

"So we meet at my locker after school!" Snow piped excitedly, since hers was nearest to the school exit.

* * *

Adam checked the area to make sure no one was around. Once the coast was clear, he moved aside the stacked-up chairs and squeezed through the tiny path. He carefully repositioned the chairs just as they were and wriggled though the heaps of junk, stray instruments and stage decorations until he finally reached a small empty space by a brick wall. This was his safe haven, his own little space where he could be alone at peace, where no one could bother him. He could just relax and eat lunch here all by himself, whilst enjoying good music, a book or even stream a movie from his laptop.

Adam's little secret hideout was located right behind the library. There was a small, cramped space between the back of library and the back of the hall where the school put aside useless junk that are forgotten and just left to rot. Of course sometimes the janitors come by to take some stuff, but they return it later on, so it wasn't a major problem for Adam since no one else ever comes by anyway. It was the perfect spot because it was right behind the library. There was free wi-fi and no one would know he was snagging it.

Adam tapped at a loose brick in the library wall, and gently removed it. A gush of cold air rushed to his face and he smiled. There was also air-conditioning. During the summer, the chairs block out the sun, providing him with just enough shade. And during winter, the little hole in the wall would gush out hot air from the heaters in the library. No one would ever find out about it either because the back of the library was where all the thick reference books were and no one ever touches those. So the shelves and books conceal his little hole perfectly.

He leaned against the brick wall with his neck positioned right in front of the little hole. He sighed in comfort and ate his lunch, feeling very pleased with himself. He was always careful not to leave any evidence of him being here, like crumbs or food wrappings.

He left himself to his thoughts. The first thing that came into his mind was Belle.

Oh God, Adam thought as he replayed the History class scene in his head. I'm such a socially awkward idiot, he thought. No one knew that Adam has a huge crush on Belle. God, that girl was beautiful, smart and quiet (he liked quiet girls, there weren't a lot of them), and on top of that she loved to read. The both of them were actually so similar in many ways, making Adam all the more attracted to her. But the thing was, he was a complete moron when it came to people, especially girls. All he wanted to do was to get Belle's attention today; instead he ended up pissing her off. And what the heck was the pen about?! Stupid! He just wanted to go up to her and apologise, but then he remembered his pen was in his hand and made up something lame, giving Belle his pen instead. And that was his favourite pen! Sigh. Well, at least it was in Belle's custody.

It's like every time he tried to approach her, even to just talk, there's a defense mechanism that would automatically activate and screw everything up. Rather than just saying a simple "Hello", he'd end up making a weird comment about her appearance that probably came off offensive more than complimentary. He just has the ability to keep embarrassing himself in front of Belle.

He put on his earphones and played some music off his iPhone, hoping to forget his inelegant encounter with Belle.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I hope this chapter wasn't too boring or anything… It isn't a particularly interesting chapter, I admit. It was more to get the plot going, so it was a necessary chapter :3**

**- I hope I didn't describe Hercules too much as the beefy, burly type because he's not. He's just supposed to be slightly larger than the average boy, but not hunky like a dumb jock.**

**- Uh, where I come from, we call it canteen instead of cafeteria :3 So… just in case anr of you get confused…**

**- I hope you liked the couples in action (well sort of). Lots of romance going around and lots of teasing in this chapter. I dunno, I just like writing teasing scenes, maybe because I'm such a teaser myself :P**

**- There's a reason why I made Philip the captain of the cheerleaders, not just because he "seemed like the type". You'll see later why :P**

**- Do you guys like how I characterized Adam? His bit becomes quite essential later on ;)**

**What do you guys think? I was actually quite ecstatic when I received some of your comments :D I really put a lot into researching the characters; I have a whole table on each character's characteristics just to remind myself what they should be like, how they should act, since I really wanted to stay true to how they were originally.**

**So please, please leave more because just one little comment really makes my day ^^ **


	4. Chapter 4: After school fun (Part 1)

**This entire fanfic is dedicated to Nina-D-lux and those of you who still has a little princess deep inside and never actually got over your Princess-phase :P**

Chapter 4

Ariel looked out the giant window of her bedroom; well it was more like her and her sisters' room. Ariel use to share the humongous room with her six older sisters, but now they were all either off to college or sent to boarding school.

Ever since her mother died almost ten years ago, nothing had ever been the same in their family. Daddy was the most devastated out of everyone, turning more and more to his work, distancing himself from the family because they reminded him too much of his wife and brought back too many painful memories. Ariel's father started a non-government organization to preserve marine life years ago before his daughters were born, and met his wife on a trip to the Atlantic. They fell deeply in love, married young, and had seven beautiful daughters. But one faithful day, when the couple was doing some rescue work on sharks off the coasts of the Caribbean, pirates attacked and took the sharks to sell, killing Triton's wife in the process. From that day onwards, he just wasn't the same man anymore. There was no more laughter in the house; the daughters were brought up strictly solely for their own good and protection. Triton dedicated himself to his work and neglected his children. They tried terribly hard to grab his attention, but Triton simply didn't have the time or energy for them. He was always off on trips, campaigns, press conferences… He was only home once or twice a month.

It was painfully boring being locked within home grounds 24/7, but Triton wouldn't hear of his daughters going to school since they were prone to be exposed to all manner of wicked, teenage danger. So they were home-schooled by their governor, Sebastian. Not that that'd stop the girls from the occasional sneak-outs. Eventually, Ariel's older sisters had to further their education and leave for college. That left Arista, Alana and Ariel in the nest. But Arista was cunning enough to cook up a plan to ditch house-arrest. She purposely started a scandal to elope with a boy, so her father would catch her and send her away, even if it was to a strict, all-girls boarding school in England. Alana too was smart enough to follow suit, so Ariel was the only one left now in the giant mansion. Ariel didn't have the heart to disobey her father, but that didn't mean she liked being imprisoned at home.

Ariel gazed out her giant bedroom window with a view that faced the beach. She loved the beach; it was her favourite place in the world for as long as she could remember. She left the windows ajar so she could feel the sea breeze. It was a good day to take a walk outside, but ever since daddy fenced the house off, the beach was banned. Which was a real pity because it was right outside her house just meters away, out of her reach, practically part of home-grounds.

Ariel slumped back onto her king-sized bed and began rolling around randomly. She moaned and proceeded to bounce on her bed like a trampoline. She jumped higher and higher, extending her hands, trying to reach the high ceiling.

"Ariel?" a voice echoed through the hallway outside her room. A moment later, Sebastian appeared with a tray of snacks in his hands. "Ariel, what are ye' doin'?"

"Jumping?" Ariel puffed in mid-air. "Is… That… Food?" Ariel said in between jumps.

"Yes, it is! Now get down from dare, child! You haven't finished yer sums yet! And I expect dem to be done by de end of de day," Sebastian said a little indignantly. He put the tray down by the table in front of her plasma TV in the room.

Ariel pouted, feeling a little disheartened. "I don't wanna!" she whined like a five year-old. Ariel bounced on her bum on the bed then off the bed to the food. "I hate math!" she added in another whine.

"Yer already behind on yer studies!" Sebastian wagged a finger at her. Sebastian was a governor, nanny, butler and best friend all wrapped in one. In many ways, he was also like a second father to her. He was very accomplished in many aspects; he was highly educated back in the days in mathematics, English, geography, history, sciences, the arts, and particularly talented in music. He was also an excellent cook.

Ugh. What was this, a 19th century novel or something? Sure, Ariel loved Sebastian but she hated her confining lifestyle. Ariel, don't do this… Ariel, don't do that… Ariel, do this… Ariel, do that… Why can't it ever be 'Ariel, what do you want to do?'? 'Ariel, practice the piano!', 'Ariel, take a shower!', 'Ariel, don't jump on the sofa!', 'Ariel, don't touch that!', 'Ariel, get off the table!'. Ugh.

Ariel munched on a cupcake. Lord these were good she thought and finished the entire batch within minutes. Ok, she couldn't stay mad at Sebastian for long, but that didn't mean she was going to do those stupid sums! She switched on the TV and flipped through the channels. There was Nat Geo Wild, the local news, CNN, Animal Planet and TLC, harmless, educational stuff. Those were the only channels her father would allow. There was nothing interesting on the news channels and the others were doing re-runs of the weekend shows. If she had a choice, she would totally stream a movie from her laptop right now, but she couldn't because daddy had the home wi-fi on strict filter. You'd think there might be loop-holes to bypass the wi-fi but no, daddy was too thorough. The best she could do on her laptop was play with paint.

"Sebastian, can you play hide and seek with me?" Ariel suddenly asked. "Pleeeaasee? There's nothing to do, I'm so bored!"

"No!" he immediately dismissed her, "You have to do yer sums! I have to report to yer father at de end of de month on de progress of your studies, and yer far behind!" Sebastian reprimanded Ariel.

Ariel only heard the first part of what he said and ignored the rest, "You're no fun." As far as Ariel cared, she had already done all the "funnest" things she could possibly do alone today, like swim in her indoor pool, paint, read, run on the treadmill, even singing (but Sebastian shut her up when she got to the rapping parts of some trashy, bubble gum pop song). And it was only around four-thirty in the afternoon.

Ariel skipped past Sebastian and went out of her room into the hallway until she reached the top of the stairs that lead to the main foyer of the house. On passing a giant window that overlooked the main driveway of the house, she saw a familiar redheaded figure heading to the main entrance, fast! Ariel giggled in excitement. Finally, some proper company! She slid down the rail of the marble staircase, a skill she had perfected out of pure boredom and ran out the house to meet her friend.

"Ariel! Come back!" Sebastian cried somewhere in the hallway but she ignored him.

* * *

As soon as Meri parted with her friends at the intersection that led to the different sections of suburbia, she unhitched her skateboard from her backpack and rode off to the direction of her home. It was nice to finally spend some time alone and just skating along the path as the cool breeze whipped her wild ginger hair away from her face. It was a quiet ride home; there weren't many people around her neighbourhood since this was a kind of awkward hour of the day. Even if there were a few kids who also just got out of school, the peace wasn't disturbed.

Whilst no one was looking, Meri practiced a few moves skidding on and off the pavement. Her thoughts suddenly drifted to the Spanish test she failed today. Ugh, her mom was so going to kill her if she found out, she had failed way too many tests already (mostly because she's just not bothered to study). Meri doesn't really see the point in passing those little tests, and she definitely doesn't get why her mom would flip over such little things. I mean, it's just a test, it's not like passing them would determine her fate or anything. And the annoying thing was the teacher still insisted on students taking home their tests for their parents to sign. Maybe she could just have her dad quickly scribble his signature since he was the more forgiving of the two.

Meri skated on. The ride home was around twenty minutes from school. When she finally arrived to the end of her street, she walked up to the gates on the right side and punched in the standard, four-digit security code. There was a small click as the gates unlocked and she opened a little gap just enough for herself to squeeze through before it clicked shut again. She picked up her skateboard and began walking up the little slope of a driveway surrounded by trees.

Meri lived in a château at the edge of their town, right against a very big hill (not big enough to be a mountain but you get what I mean). On the other side of that very big hill was already the sea. Her house or rather a fort of a house was right up the slope surrounded by lots and lots of green.

"I'm home!" Meri yelled out to no one in particular when she reached the main foyer of the house. When no one replied, she just put her skateboard down and was about to skate across the wooden floor to the kitchen when her mother suddenly appeared on the balcony of the second floor.

"Merida! How many times have I told you, no skating in the house!" her mother called down to her, just as Meri was about to turn the corner.

"Really? Not even a 'Hey, you're home!'? Just 'Merida, don't skate!'?" Meri gave her mom an annoying look.

"Well, rules are rules and you know you shouldn't be skating inside the house."

"Whatever." Meri groaned and stalked into kitchen begrudgingly.

"And good afternoon, darling!" Elinor called to Meri but she already turned the corner. Stubborn child, she thought.

Meri's stomach grumbled. It must be because of how hungry she was that's why she was feeling particularly moody. She ditched the skateboard and her backpack on the black stone floor and headed straight for the fridge.

"Let's see…" Meri said as the cold air hit her face. There were a lot of vegetables, probably for tonight's dinner Maudie was preparing. Yeah, definitely not what she had in mind for a snack. She scanned the fridge and spotted a box of sushi. It was not proper meat as she would've liked but it'll have to do. She took it over to the big wooden table at the center of the kitchen and plopped into a stool.

Then she heard muffled giggles coming from under the table. Meri peeked and found her three brothers hiding.

"Boys, what are you doing down here?"

They simply put their fingers to their lips telling her to keep quiet. Suddenly, a scream came from upstairs. Maudie.

"You crafty rascals, what did you do now?"

The boys just laughed and crawled out from under the table to flee. Meri handed each of them a sushi and shooed them. "Go! Before Maudie finds you here!" she whispered.

The boys popped the sushi into their mouths and made a run for it. Meri just shook her head whilst smiling. A moment later, a flustered Maudie burst into the kitchen.

"Where are they?!" she screamed in outrage.

"Dunno," Meri just shrugged, lying casually.

Maudie was about to run out of the kitchen again when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Is that sushi?"

Meri gave a her a toothy grin with a piece of sushi still in her mouth, "Yeth…?"

Maudie put her fleshy hands on her hips, "You know darn well missy that the family diet today is strictly vegetarian!"

"Ugh, pleeease Maudie? It's only a bit of fish! I'm starving!" Meri groaned.

"Didn't you eat your lunch?" she raised her eyebrow.

"Well, I…" But a loud clang of metal came from down the stoney hallway, distracting the both of them.

"Oh those naughty, naughty boys!" And with that, Maudie stumbled out of the kitchen. Thank God, Meri thought.

She popped the last few pieces of sushi into her mouth and picked up a bucket of carrots on the kitchen floor and headed out to backyard. Well, backyard was putting it mildly. It was more like a giant grassy plain that stretched out to the bottom of the big hill, with a small forest of trees dotted around the side and up the hill. Meri loved big spaces, not that she was claustrophobic or anything, but she much preferred fields of grass over say, a classroom.

She followed the little stone path that led to stables on the other end of the house. There was her father's horse, her mother's, three little ponies for her brothers and her horse, Angus. Once he spotted her, Angus nuzzled Meri's face.

"Okay, okay…" Meri fed him some carrots and stroked his waxy mane. She fed each of the magnificent beasts some carrots, finishing the bucket within minutes.

Okay, what should I do now, Meri thought. For once, she didn't want to take Angus for a ride, since she wasn't so much in the mood for riding. She definitely didn't want to stay in her room for the rest of the day, and if she stayed in the vicinity of the house her mom will just make her do her homework. She pondered for a moment until an idea struck her, she could just pay her neighbour, Ariel, a visit! Yeah, that poor girl could really use some company and it was the perfect opportunity to get out of the house. Ariel lived right across the street, with the nice beach view and all that. Meri could just pop over for a visit and be home in time for dinner.

Meri bolted up to her room to pick up something for Ariel. She gave a quick shout to her mom, "I'm heading to Ariel's! I'll be back for dinner!" then ran swiftly out of the house before Elinor could stop her.

Meri skated along Ariel's driveway. It was much longer than hers with perfectly trimmed tree-bushes (whatever those tall, fancy fir-like tree thingies were called) lined along the sides. When she finally saw the giant mansion looming ahead, she gave a low, impressed whistle. Fancy, she thought. Meri rode up to the big fountain in front of the house with statues of mermaids, and went around it just to see Ariel scrambling out of the house barefoot.

"Meri!" Ariel screamed in delight. She practically lunged for Meri and tackled her to the ground.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... I'm glad to see you too!" Meri laughed.

"I was practically dying in there! But now that you're here it's going to be so fun now!" Ariel jumped up and down getting very hyper all of a sudden.

"Chill, chill," Meri put both hands on her friend's shoulder. "You know, the password you gave me before was wrong. That or your dad changed it, but it's ok, I hacked it and now I know the new one," Meri said to Ariel proudly. Ariel's father set up security systems that if anyone tried to get into the house unauthorized, as in without punching in the gates' password, the alarm will go off. But luckily, hacking is one of Meri's many skills.

The first of many things the girls did were to ride Meri's skateboard. Then they went on into the main house to Ariel's room to hangout, but when Meri decided that there was nothing fun enough to do there, she made a suggestion, "Heeeey… Why don't we watch a movie?"

"You know I don't have any movies here," Ariel pouted.

"Well, we can stream one online," Meri suggested.

"Filtered wi-fi, remember?" Ariel gave her a look.

"Yeah, but there your father's computer isn't," Meri gave Ariel a wink.

"Oh… but that's means… But…" Ariel felt a little hesitant, "It's locked, he has a password," Ariel frowned. She never thought of doing _that._ What if they get caught?

"Easy, I'll just hack into it and voilà!"

"Ok…" Ariel still wasn't so sure.

"Look, I promise I'll wipe the history once we're done. He'll never know we were there! Come on!" Meri added.

"Alright!" Ariel smiled.

"Oh yeah! Before I forget!" Meri snapped her fingers and rummaged through her backpack. She took out a bunch of clothes and few magazines. "Here. These are some clothes my mom got me that I'll never ever be caught dead wearing. She just thinks I stash these at the bottom of my closet." Meri handed Ariel some lacy tops, frilly spaghetti strings, and skirts. Ugh. Does the whole badass look not strike her mother that Meri does not do lace and frills?

"And these magazines are um… my friend, Meg's… Yeah, she left them at my place and forgot all about it, so now they're yours." Meri tossed those over to Ariel too. She definitely would find them more appealing than Meri. There was some Teen Vogue, Seventeen Magazine and a Cosmopolitan. Whoa,whoa,whoa. Meri stopped at Cosmo and chucked the magazine back in her bag. That had an entire seven-page spread about kama sūtra. Yeah, someone as naïve as Ariel didn't need to know about that. Meri'll just dump this in the bin later.

"Wow, thanks!" Ariel grinned and gave Meri another tight hug. "These are really pretty! Are you sure you don't want them?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ariel beamed. "Now I can add these to my collection!" She took her magazines and put them in a beautifully adorned trunk at the foot of her bed along with lots of other junk Ariel kept in there.

Now that it was settled, Meri headed straight for Triton's room on the third floor of the mansion with Ariel trailing behind her. They bumped into Sebastian on the way and he stopped the girls.

"Oh so it was you." He looked at Meri accusingly as if her very existence was an offence.

"Hey, Sebastian. Nice to see you too," Meri said sarcastically.

"Sebastian… Can you please whip us some snacks?" Ariel asked sweetly.

"But you jost ate. And you still haven't finished yer sums."

"Forget the sums! Meri hasn't eaten yet, so..."

"Alright, alright." Sebastian waved the girls off and they scrambled out of his sight.

Once they reached the third floor, the first door on the right was Triton's room since it took up half of the entire floor. They arrived at the set of big, white doors with fancy, golden doorknobs. Ariel tried to open them, but they were locked.

"Darn!"

"No worries!" Meri reached into her red mass of hair and pulled out a tiny bobby-pin. Within seconds, there was a swift click and the girls let themselves in.

Triton's room was even bigger than Ariel's. Although the ceiling wasn't as high, there was much more room. There was a king-sized post bed, a giant plasma TV built into the wall across the bed, a walk-in closet built into the edge of the room and a long wooden desk by the floor-to-ceiling window. It used to be Athena and Triton's room, but he put most of her things in the attic, including her piano because the memory of his wife was too painful for him.

Meri got to work and went straight for Triton's Apple desktop. She turned the thing on and went tapping away. Within a minute she was logged in.

Ariel let out little giggle of excitement. This was one of the most badass things she's done in a while. "You have to teach me how to do that!"

"Sorry, it's a secret." Meri winked. "Ok, what do you wanna watch?" Not that Ariel knew a lot of movies, since she only watched some.

But before Ariel could say it, Meri stopped her, "No, 'Aquamarine'! Something we can _both_ enjoy."

"Aww… Um, how about 'Spirited Away'?"

That was ok, Meri thought and she streamed it right away. She went to the TV and pulled some extensions and connected some wires from the computer to the TV so they can enjoy the movie on the big screen. When the movie was ready, the girls got comfortable on Triton's plush, sea of a bed.

Not long after the movie started, Sebastian came in with a tray of snacks, right at the scene where Chihiro's parents were munching away at their own animated delicacies. "So dis is where you girls are. How did you get in? I locked de door! And you know yer not supposed to be in here, Ariel! Yer definitely not supposed to be watching a movie! Yer father will be furious if he finds out!" he began ranting.

Ariel ran over to Sebastian and took the tray from him. "_If_ he finds out. And you're not going to tell him, are you? Pleeeeaaase?" Ariel pulled the puppy eyes on him. Even after pulling it on him so many times, it still gets him.

"Alright, alright."

"Thank you!" Ariel pecked him on the cheek then bounced over the bed. Sebastian left the room mumbling something about being paid to be pushed around.

Meri resumed the movie. "What's got him feeling extra crabby today? It's only a cartoon."

Ariel shrugged and they feasted upon Sebastian's amazing cooking.

Everything was going great and they were already to the part where Chihiro was at the twin witch's house with No-face, about to fly away with Haku when Meri suddenly paused the movie.

"Why'd you stop the movie?" Ariel asked.

It was past six-thirty and it was already getting dark outside. "Ssshh. Do you hear that?" Meri tuned her ears to the noise outside. It sounded like a car was in the driveway. The girls snuck over to the window to peek. A white Rolls Royce was driving towards the mansion.

Ariel's eyes widened, "It's daddy!"

"Shit!" Meri panicked.

"What do we do?!" The girls backed away from the window. Luckily, the lights were turned off for the movie, so their presence wasn't detected. Yet.

"Um… um… I'll go distract daddy, and you can leave through the back door!"

"But I still need to wipe the computer's history, and my stuff is still in your room!' Meri exclaimed.

"Uh… uh… just be quick then!" With that, Ariel scrambled out of the room.

Meri was left standing awkwardly by the window. Right, no stalling! Ok, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, let's do this! Meri closed the movie window, unplugged the TV and computer. She deleted the movie history and cookies and wiped out some coded files (just technical stuff that won't be described in detail) just to make sure Ariel's dad won't ever find out that they've used his computer. There were voices in the house, one of them Meri didn't recognize, probably Ariel's dad. Crap!

Meri was about to run out of the room but swiveled back to the bed to smoothen the covers, brush the crumbs off the bed and take the tray out with her.

She closed the white doors quietly, whilst balancing the metal tray and the china on it. From where she was standing, she could see Ariel's dad was by the main foyer being distracted by Ariel's unusually high-pitched, nervous chatter. They both made quick eye contact, then Meri tip-toed swiftly down the third-floor hallway to the second set of stairs at the back of the house. When she reached the second floor, she ran down to the end of the hallway where Ariel's room was. She almost busted open the door and having all the china slide of the tray, but then she tilted it back just in time.

There was no way she could take the back door now since that would mean going down and that's be tricky. She dumped the tray gently on Ariel's table, grabbed her skateboard and backpack and went over to Ariel's window. Meri looked over the window ledge; the drop was a few meters high, no biggie. She threw her things down into the bushes and swung herself over, landing with a soft thud on the grass.

That was close, too close, Meri thought. She ran into the cover of the trees into the direction of the gates.

* * *

Snow White lived in a nice estate in the richer part of town. As soon as she parked her red convertible in the garage, Cindy and Aurora thanked her for the ride and hopped off the car, heading straight for the house's back door. For Cindy, this was like a second home to her since she's been over so many times. The garage was connected to the back room of the kitchen, and Snow's mom was sitting by the kitchen's island, buried in her own cookbooks.

"Hello, Mrs. White!" Cindy greeted Snow's mom, politely.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. White," Aurora also addressed her courteously.

"Hello girls." Mrs. White just waved casually without looking up from her cookbooks. Snow's mother was a local celebrity because she had her own cooking show and she published her own cookbooks, hence the large fortune. Snow White happens to have inherited her mother's cooking talents.

She led her friends to her bedroom which was tidied up very nicely. Aurora went straight to Snow's desk and laid out her homework.

"Just won't take a break, would you?" Cindy said as she flopped onto Snow's bed.

"Well I don't want my homework to pile up," Aurora replied.

"Ok, you girls make yourself comfy and I'll get straight to that apple pie as promised!" Snow said cheerily then headed straight for the kitchen.

Aurora submerged herself into her work and after a while of hard-concentration she didn't hear Snow sneak up behind her and grab her face with ice-cold hands. Aurora screamed and pushed her friend away. Snow White tried to reach for Aurora's face again but Aurora tackled her onto the bed.

"NOT THE SHEETS!" Snow screamed as Aurora pinned her on the bed, trying to make her best friend wipe her flour-covered hands on her white, pristine bed sheets for revenge.

Snow was pushing Aurora's face with her hands and they rolled around the bed giggling and laughing hysterically. They pushed a napping Cindy off the bed.

"Ow! You guys!" She saw them fighting and decided to join the struggle by jumping back on the bed.

"STOP!" Snow screamed. "PIEEEE!" She pushed her two friends off her and ran to the kitchen to check on her pie.

"Oh no you don't! You can't escape!" Aurora smiled cheekily and leapt off the bed, landing on her feet easily since she was so tall and sprinted off after Snow.

"You guys!" Cindy called after them. She awkwardly rolled off the bed and scrambled after them.

The hallways were filled with the girls' screams and giggles as Snow was pursued by Aurora, followed closely by Cindy. Once she entered the kitchen, she headed for the oven and grabbed her oven mittens.

"Can you girls please take this somewhere else?" Mrs. White said tiredly, "I'm trying to work."

"Sorry mom!" The pie was done and Snow took it carefully out of the oven. Aurora and Cindy screeched to a halt just as they arrived into the kitchen.

"Hello, Mrs. White!" the girls called in unison.

"Out, girls. I'm working." Mrs. White shooed them away.

"Sorry…" they mumbled and followed Snow and the pie out of the kitchen.

"Mmmmm…" Aurora moaned at the first bite of apple pie, "Ok, I forgive you for attacking me."

"Forgive me? You spoiled my clean sheets!" Snow huffed.

"This is so good! I wish I could cook like you," Cindy sighed.

"Thanks," Snow smiled bashfully, "The flour's organic. I got them from Florian, so they're extra good." Snow's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Florian's name.

"Oooh, Florian…" Cindy teased. Florian was only Snow's biggest crush. He happens to work at a bakery, where Snow is a regular customer.

"Have you actually ever talked to him before?" Aurora asked.

"Well… no?!" Snow cried defensively, "Only as much as you'll ever go out on a real date with Philip!" Snow tossed the ball back to her friend.

Aurora ignored that and ate her pie. "Plus, I'm more like the stare-at-a-distance-and-hope-he'll-make-the-first- move type. He'd never notice me… Like, I'm too fat! He'll never go for girls like me…" Snow sighed, wallowing in self-pity.

"You're not fat," Cindy reassured her.

"You just love cooking, it's not your fault," Aurora stated.

"Yes I am! I mean, I'm not like obese but look at all this chubbiness hanging off me!" Snow slapped her thighs to prove her point.

"You're fine!" Aurora assured Snow.

"Says Ms. Skin and Bones! You're pretty and tall and skinny… I'm short and chubby, like way chubbier than the both of you. I'm a ball of chubby fatness. I'm so jelly." Snow pouted.

Aurora just rolled her eyes. "You know, there's always exercising… Or maybe like doing the chores around the house, like I do," Cindy suggested.

"Yeah, I _do_ do them but then I get hungry and bake some more. It's a vicious cycle," Snow sunk into a chair, sulking.

"This is more about Florian not talking to you than you being fat," Aurora cut in bluntly.

"It's because I'm fat, that's why he won't talk to me!"

"You're being silly, just talk to him!" Cindy said, trying to help.

"But what if he already has a girlfriend and this is all just a silly crush? I'd make a fool out of myself!" Snow's doe eyes looked like they were going to water-up.

"There, there…" Aurora and Cindy got Snow into a group hug. Cindy mentally shook her head. Snow's parents were on the verge of divorce; her mother was ignoring her, her father was cheating on her mother with Doris; Doris practically lives here and she hates Snow and right now all Snow could worry about was Florian. Poor, wonderful girl. If only Cindy had the innocence of her best friend then she'd have a load off her mind and be a little more stress-free. Her phone suddenly rang, the reality-check she was dreading. It was Drizella, her stepsister.

"Sorry…" Cindy apologized to her friends and wriggled out of the group hug, "Hello?"

_"CINDY?! WHERE ARE YOU?! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE AT HOME BY FOUR TO WATCH LUCIFER WHILE MOTHER GOES SHOPPING WITH US?!"_ Drizella's shrill voice pierced through from the other side. Cindy had to edge away from the phone so she won't go deaf.

_"Is that Cindy?! Gimme the phone!"_ Cindy heard Anastasia shout in the background, _"CINDY?! SO HELP ME GOD IF YOU MAKE ME LATE FOR MY MANICURE, I WILL PERSONALLY TRASH YOUR ROOM?!_"

"Is that…?" Snow mouthed. Cindy shook her head solemnly.

Cindy endured a minute more of shouting until they finally hung up. She sighed heavily. "Guess, that's my cue to leave… Sorry guys…"

"But your pie…" Snow gestured.

"Why don't you stand up to them and tell them you refuse to be pushed around?" Aurora put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You can't let them do that to you, it's cruel! My father's a lawyer, I could maybe ask him to get you out of their custody…"

"No, it's ok." Cindy smiled a little sadly. "It's only until I'm eighteen, that's just a two years away. Then with enough money, I'll go off to college and leave them forever. I can also finally inherit my father's money, well what's left of it since I'm sure my stepmother has spent most of it, no doubt. But yeah, things'll get better, you'll see." Cindy tried to put on a strong smile for her friends but they still didn't look convinced.

"Hey, don't forget, the three of us will be living together. Remember our promise?" Snow broke the silence. It was the girls' promise to each other since 7th grade that they'd live together after school finished because they would always be best of friends.

"Best friends forever?" Cindy sniffed.

Snow and Aurora got her into a group hug. "Always," they said in unison.

"I'll put the rest of the pie for you in a box so you can take it home, and I'll drive you," Snow offered kindly.

"Thanks…" Cindy was truly thankful for her best friends.

"I'll just walk home. I shouldn't stay too long since I don't want to intrude on your mom any longer…" Aurora said.

"Aww, but you're always welcome here! Fine, I'll skype you guys tonight at ten," Snow frowned at both her friends ditching her.

"Ten's too late…" Aurora said.

"Right, I forgot, sleeping beauty; you sleep at nine-thirty! Fine, I'll skype you guys at nine." Snow shot Aurora a look. "Who sleeps so early anyway?!"

"What?!" Aurora cried defensively.

The girls grabbed their stuff and headed to the garage.

"Mom, I'm going to take Cindy home!"

"Bye, Mrs. White," Cindy and Aurora said simultaneously.

"Goodbye." Mrs. White didn't even look up from her cookbooks, She was very glad that all the girls were getting out of the house.

The girls said their goodbyes to each other and Snow drove Cindy off. Aurora began finding her way home since it was only one street away.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Ok, so this chapter was meant to be much, much longer. But since it was too long, I decided I'll split it into two chapters. Sorry, I feel like this chapter is boring as hell /: I'm still setting up the story and the characters :3 Yeah, 4 chapters already and it's still Monday in the Disney High universe, time must drag by painfully slow :3 Well, I promise after the next chapter, thing will move at a faster pace ^^**

**- Anything you guys want to particularly see from the characters? I'm open to suggestions and I ****_might _****include them (no guarantees though).**

**- Yeah, I confess that I wasn't going to add Ariel in the story originally since I've never seen The Little Mermaid :3 But someone said that they wanted to see Ariel and so I finally got around to see the classic film and thought Ariel was a good character to write so I added her in.**

**- I made Ariel's background story sound a bit like the Sound of Music :3 And haha, see what I did there with the Pirates of the Caribbean? xD**

**- I reached 500 views to my story :DD Thank you so much guys, I know it's not much but I will do the story justice and you guys proud J**

**- By the way, I edited the previous chapter so Philip's not the captain of the cheerleaders anymore since wouldn't make sense for a sophomore to be captain. He's just one of the cheerleaders now.**

**Comments are always appreciated. Please tell me what you guys think because I'm just sitting in the dark here hoping against hope that you guys like my take on theses classic Disney characters :3 **


	5. Chapter 5: After school fun (Part 2)

**This entire fanfic is dedicated to Nina-D-lux and those of you who still has a little princess deep inside and never actually got over your Princess-phase :P**

Chapter 5

Cindy didn't live too far from school, as soon as Snow arrived in front of her house, she gave Snow a quick hug and jumped out of the convertible, barely bothered to open the door.

"Thank you so much for the pie and the ride!"

"Don't mention it," Snow smiled sweetly, "And don't forget, nine o'clock skype chat tonight!"

"I'll try not to miss it," Cindy said. She didn't exactly promised Snow since she wasn't so sure she could skype tonight, not with what was coming.

"CINDY?!" Drizella barged out of the house, "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!"

Cindy cringed and Snow gave her an apologetic wave and drove away before she could get swept into Cindy's mess.

Cindy was about to open her mouth to apologise and explain but Drizella cut her short, "We waited sooooo long for you! We were supposed to go shopping but mom made us stay behind to watch Lucifer until you came back! But noooooooo, you were too busy hanging out with your stupid little friends, you selfish bitch?!" she spat.

Look who's talking, Cindy thought but she was smart to keep that remark to herself.

"Oh. My. God." And _that _was Anastasia. Great, now she's here too. "MOOOOM! CINDY'S BACK WE CAN _FINALLY_ GO SHOPPING. LIKE FINALLY?! OH MY GOD?!" She trotted down the front porch to the lawn to greet Cindy in a hideous pink outfit.

"My manicure is in fifteen minutes, and if they cancel my appointment for being late, I will… I will… _You_ will… uurgh?! MOOOOOM?!"

Not a moment too soon, Lady Tremaine also came down the porch petting Lucifer in her arms. That hideous up-do she had made _her_ look like the devil. Drizella and Anastasia sneered at Cindy's demise, "Oh you're going to get it now," Anastasia pulled an ugly face as if to gloat. The girls hopped over to their mother, "Mooooooom, Cindy is soooo going to make us late for my, I mean _our_ appointment!" Anastasia tugged at her mother's arms.

"Yeah?! And what about our shopping? We need to shop! _I_ need to shop! I have like, nothing to wear?! Like my wardrobe has too much green and this season's colour is orange, I seriously like need orange clothes, mom?!" Drizella whined.

"Girls, girls… Please. Since Cindy is the cause of your troubles we must certainly punish her, shouldn't we, girls?" Lady Tremaine abased.

"Make her wash the car, like she hasn't washed our cars in so long! Wash the cars, Cindy! Since you like cars so much, hopping out of fancy convertibles with your bitchy little rich friend, you can wash _our _cars!" Drizella sneered.

Cindy had her head down the entire time, just hoping they would be done verbally abusing her so she could just get straight to the awful chores she knew they were going to dish out. But to that comment, she looked up, "Snow White is _not_ bitchy!" Just by saying the word "bitchy" made Cindy wince.

"Be quiet!" Lady Tremaine snapped at her. "Now… you will give Lucifer his bath…"

The little devil hissed in her arms at the mention of a bath. Cindy definitely wasn't looking forward to that.

"…the mopping, the laundry, the dishes, wash the curtains…" Lady Tremaine listed things, some off the top of her head just to torture the poor girl. Drizella and Anastasia added their own little favours to get some of their own things cleaned, like polishing boots that Drizella never wore or rearranging Anastasia's nail polish collection and colour-code them (seriously, what was the point of going for a manicure when the girl has enough equipment here to start her own nail salon?).

When they were finally done with their list of domestic exploitation, Lady Tremaine left with a final threat that if Cindy didn't finish the all the housework by the time they returned, she would deprive Cindy of food for a whole week. And with that, they left for the mall in the BMW.

Cindy heaved a giant sigh. That was a lot of work and she only had a few hours until nine. Well, there's nothing like multitasking. Lucifer gave an unimpressed yawn. Cindy picked him up and went into the house.

* * *

Today's been one of those many so-so days for Phoebus, like the type of day that he'll probably forget later on. Nothing really interesting happened. Yet.

Phoebus and Naveen went to shoot some hoops after school, because it wasn't like they had anything else better to do. They were playing against some seniors and a few other juniors, typical guy bonding stuff. It was four-on-four and Phoebus and Naveen were on the losing team. They were doing okay at first but towards the end, every time Phoebus or someone else passed the ball to Naveen, he always missed the hoop.

In the end, they lost badly.

"Whatever, I'm done. Let's go," Naveen dragged Phoebus away from the court. Phoebus just shrugged; his friend was always a bit of sore-loser anyway.

On seeing them leave, one of the seniors on their team yelled, "Dude, you suck!" and shot a few more curse words at Naveen, but they already walked into the guys' changing rooms.

"Dude, you sucked balls out there! What kind of lousy basketball player are you?" Phoebus scoffed at Naveen, whilst doing their guy business.

"Me?! You're the one who can't pass!" Naveen shot back defensively.

"Can't pass? Bitch, you caught my ball and you could barely get it in," Phoebus snorted.

"Just, whatever!" Naveen dismissed his friend.

Phoebus shook his head but let the subject drop.

Naveen and Phoebus walked to the sink to wash their hands. There was a moment of silence, then Naveen looked in the mirror and ruffled curly hair, "Dude, if looks could kill, I'd be a weapon of mass destruction," he suddenly thought out loud.

Phoebus looked at his friend through the mirror, "Did you just use a pick-up line on yourself?"

"Hey, it's one of my best ones," Naveen shot back.

"And aren't you going to wash your hands _before_ you touch your hair?" Phoebus asked Naveen.

"Pff, yeah I am." Naveen pumped the soap dispenser multiple times, "Yeah… that would so be my super power," he continued. "And you can be my faithful sidekick," Naveen smirked.

"And why should I be the sidekick? Besides, the last time I remember, super heroes are supposed to use their powers for good, not as a 'weapon of mass destruction'. And what am I supposed to do? Just stand there and look pretty?"

"No. _I'll_ stand there and look pretty. You can just… stand there," Naveen gave Phoebus a smug look. The both of made their way out of the changing rooms to the school entrance.

Phoebus gave Naveen an "Oh really?" look. "For your information, I don't need my looks to get chicks. And I can probably get more than you, Narcissus."

"With what? Your charming personality? That's cute."

"Well, yes," Phoebus said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, is that a challenge?" Naveen arched his perfectly thick brow, a devilish look in his eye.

"Yes, but I'm afraid you'd lose." Phoebus mockingly patted Naveen's cheeks.

Naveen swat Phoebus away. "We'll see about that."

The boys made their way to the mall. There were lots of teenagers hanging around, none of them willing to go home. Perfect.

They decided to battle it out in the salad bar because that was the most girl-concentrated place besides the girly clothing stores and both of them agreed that _that_ was definitely out of their hunting territory. The salad bar was a frequent hangout for a lot of girls because well, who doesn't love to eat? _And_ everyone knows that salad is "healthy". "Healthy" as in design your own fatty, processed salad dressing, cheese, potatoes (uh, carbs?), topped with bacon bits. Yep, it was definitely a brilliant ploy to reel in unsuspecting victims towards their healthy demise.

"Alright, whoever gets the most phone numbers, win," Naveen named the challenge.

"Bring it," Phoebus said. "Wait, whoever gets the most phone numbers by six wins, 'cuz I gotta be home for dinner," he added.

"Fine."

The moment they two of them walked into the salad bar, several heads turned, all of them girls.

"Daddy's home," Naveen said to Phoebus.

"And I need to get a yogurt," was Phoebus' reply.

"Dude, you're snacking now? Fine, a head start for me." Naveen walked over to an empty table right in the middle of the shop, perfect to scout out all the ladies.

Phoebus walked over to the fro-yo counter next to the salad bar. It was another brilliant ploy for the salad bar to include a fro-yo counter next to the salad bar because it has become one of the hippest food amongst young people. Phoebus doesn't really get the fro-yo trending and all the Instagramming about it. It's not even as healthy as they claim it to be anyway. But he's gotta respect the way it hooks the ladies, they go gaga for this crap. Oh well, it's just like ice cream but more sour.

The server was a girl, probably a college student. The moment their eyes met the girl perked up immediately at probably the most interesting customer she's had all day. Phoebus put on his winning smile, "I'll have the chocolate flavoured one please, with some sprinkles and Hershey chocolate sauce on top. Oh, and throw in a little something _special_ uh…" He scanned the girl's name tag, "… Hazel." He winked at her. She giggled and Phoebus handed her ten bucks, "This should cover it?"

The girl came back with an expertly made chocolate fro-yo with chocolate sauce perfectly squirted and sprinkles sprinkled on top evenly. "This one's on the house. Chocolate's like my favourite flavor," she said it as if Phoebus would find their mutual interest in chocolate attractive. The girl smiled and touched this hand lightly.

"Why thank you, Hazel." Phoebus took the fro-yo and caught her phone number scribbled on the napkin.

"You're soooo welcome. Like you can come back any time." A stupid grin plastered on her face.

"I will, babe." Phoebus spooned some fro-yo into his mouth, "Mmm, this is divine. Is that _hazel_nut I taste?"

"Yeah," Hazel giggled. Other customers were already lining up, waiting to be served but she completely ignored them.

"Thanks again, babe." Phoebus winked again and head over to Naveen's table.

He slapped the napkin onto the table, "And _that's_ how we do it."

Naveen just chuckled, "While you were making goo-goo eyes with Miss Fro-yo over there, I already have two numbers." He showed Phoebus the back of his hand where two numbers were roughly scribbled.

"Hmph, well at least I have free fro-yo," Phoebus consoled himself and scooped another spoonful into his mouth.

"Mmmmm…" he moaned to try to make Naveen jealous. "Want some? I can feed you," Phoebus pretended to spoon-feed Naveen like a baby.

Naveen shot Phoebus a look.

"Fine, suit yourself. More for me." With that Phoebus shoved more fro-yo into his mouth.

A girl walked up to the table next to theirs. Alone. Girls who were alone were usually the easiest targets. "Let the master show you how it's done," Naveen said then approached the girl.

"Excuse me, sorry to bother you…"

The girl looked up and immediately blushed at the sight of him. "Nonononono, pleasebotherme, I mean, you'rebotheringme, I mean… yeah?" she fumbled over her words.

He grinned at her, "I seem to have lost my phone number… Can I have yours?" And bam, he's done it again. The girl's face burned red as she mumbled something incoherent that sounded like "youcanhavemybabies" and nodded vigorously. She wrote down her number on a soggy napkin and gave it to Naveen.

She mumbled a "call me" but Naveen already went back to his table and was too busy gloating to Phoebus.

* * *

It was five minutes to six and the score was pretty close. Naveen had nine numbers and Phoebus was in the lead with ten after scoring two girls in one go. He used the "Is it getting really hot in here, or is it just you?" line. It worked like a charm.

"Give up, yet?" Phoebus taunted Naveen.

"There's five more minutes, I can do a _lot_ of damage in five minutes," Naveen said, refusing to believe he's lost, especially at something he's actually good at.

"Sure…" Phoebus said, unconvinced.

Good God.

He almost choked on his own saliva as he spotted a really… well to put it nicely, "horizontally challenged", like really _big_ goth girl heading towards them.

Holy _cow_.

She had a tight black tube dress with netty fabric for sleeves, where you can clearly see her flesh oozing out of the holes like playdoh, and her waist was like a three-tiered blackforest cake. Not that Phoebus had anything against fat people, but this girl had the potential for heart attack/ diabetes/ stroke/ obesity. She could definitely lose a few pounds for her own sake.

She was wearing thick makeup with purple eye shadow that made her look like she took a few punches. Phoebus didn't want to know what she looked like without it. Hell, he definitely didn't want to know her _with_ it. The girl headed straight for what Phoebus hoped was Naveen, with determined, seductive eyes (at least that's what Phoebus thinks she's trying to do), with her layers swinging in full motion. Phoebus had to fight the urge to chortle. A chain of fat jokes suddenly came into his head, there were so many insulting things he could say to her, but he was wise to hold his tongue.

He nudged Naveen, "Dude, She-Planet, four o'clock, coming straight at you."

Naveen turned and he almost gagged.

"Hey, big boys," Mctubby said with a lot of fattitude. She had a raspy voice, probably from all the smoking she'd done (you can smell it in her breath). "Big boys"… Oh the irony, Phoebus thought.

She singled out Naveen and cozied up to him, completely ignoring Phoebus. "So do you come here often, hotstuff?"

"I uh…"

"Oh, speechless I see. It's okay, handsome, I know I have that effect on people." Big Mac Momma cracked a hideous smile as her sausage lips stretched from one ear to the other. She stabbed at her salad which was swimming in salad dressing and bacon, and took a bite. The sauce went all over her mouth and she just licked it off in the most repulsive manner. "The name's Ursula, by the way." And the She-Ark moved ever so closer to Naveen.

He inched away from her horrendous breath and gave Phoebus a "Help me" look.

Phoebus just shrugged apologetically, but he wasn't sorry at all. If anything, he felt zero pity for Naveen. Guess that's what you get for being a chick magnet; even the ugly, fat ones love you too.

Suddenly a vision of heaven struck Phoebus.

Hark! The herald angels sing…

Sweet mercy!

Hallelujah!

Somebody better tell God that he's missing an angel!

For Phoebus, it was like the clouds have parted after an eternity of darkness as Esmeralda of all people, walked into the salad bar. Judging from her look she probably just finished dance classes. She was wearing a purple tank top with a white crop top over it, matched with tight, black leggings. Damn this girl knew how to work those curves!

Phoebus winked at Naveen and ditched him for Esmeralda.

"Helloooo. Have we met?" Phoebus said in mock bravado, blocking Esmeralda off before she could pick her salad.

She sighed. Not now, she thought. God these boys were persistent. She didn't have time for this, all she wanted was a salad and now she has an extra serving of Barney Stinson here hitting on her.

Upon seeing Phoebus hit the mother lode, Naveen could _not_ pass up the opportunity of escape/ talking to Esmeralda. He cut into whatever Thunder Thighs was rambling about, "Yeah, cool story. 'Scuse me." and walked over to Phoebus and Esmeralda.

"Excuse me?" the Deep Fried Twinkie scoffed.

"Heeeeeey… What a surprise seeing you here, my dear," Naveen grinned.

"Surprise surprise," Esmeralda said, her words dripping with sarcasm. "You're here too. Greeeaat."

Phoebus and Naveen acted as a barricade between Esmeralda and the salad bar. Suddenly, Ursula pushed herself in between the both of them and saw the stunning Esmeralda. She scanned her head to toe with contempt, "You know this toothpick, caramel latte?" She looked at Naveen for answers, so everyone could safely assume that he was "caramel latte". Esmeralda raised her eyebrows in amusement at Naveen's acquaintance with this poor, delusional Tub-o-lard. Whatever lie he told her, clearly she was thinking much, much more of it. Phoebus had to try really, really hard to keep a straight face, luckily he managed. Something told Naveen that he was never going to hear the end of this.

"Something funny, toothpick?" Chubby-Bunny snapped at Esmeralda, a little too loudly. They were beginning to attract some attention in the salad bar.

She couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, "Oh no, no… Nothing… I just wanted some salad." Esmeralda tried to maneuver her way through the three of them to the salad bar.

"Yeah, you better eat something, toothpick," PB&J Chunky spat at her.

Esmeralda wanted to reply "Well, _you_ should stop eating.", but she kept that to herself. She picked out her salad and went over to the cashier to pay. Phoebus caught up to her, "One sec," he said to the cashier and turned to Esmeralda, "Come on, at _least_ let me pay for the salad?"

"Go away, Phoebus." Esmeralda gave him an irritated look. She could pay for her salad just fine. She didn't need some womanizing asshole's help.

Phoebus actually looked a little hurt. He just wanted to buy her salad.

Naveen also caught up to them and he stood next to Esmeralda. Now she was awkwardly sandwiched between the boys.

"Esmeralda, you gotta help me. I don't even know that crazy fat chick, _she_ was flirting with _me_! You gotta believe me! I'd never go for ugly, fat girls like her!" He muttered to her under his breath so the Incredible Bulk wont' over hear him. "What do you say we get out of here, huh? Forget the salad, I'll buy you dinner!"

"Dude!" Phoebus gave him a what-the-hell look. He had dibs on Esmeralda, _he_ was there first! Naveen can't just swoop in and take her?!

Esmeralda stared at Naveen incredulously. "Do I look like some cheap airhead that you can just dupe to go on a date with? No?! I will not be brought down to your level! Solve your own damn problems!"

Now the entire shop had their eyes on them. Unfortunately, so has Chubasoraus.

"Toothpick! Are you stealing my man?!" She trot over to Esmeralda and grabbed her arm forcefully.

"Ow! Let go, you crazy bitch?!" Esmeralda rarely used profanity, but right now was an exception.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ok, you need to chill," Phoebus cut in as the voice of reason. This was getting way more dramatic than it needed to be.

"Shut up, blondie!"

"Uh… your salad, miss? Are you going to pay for this or…?" the cashier was still waiting there awkwardly.

"Zip it!" Teletubby snapped. "What game are you playing here, huh toothpick?! Don't expect to flirt with my man and get away with it!"

"Uh… I'm calling the manager…" the cashier mumbled. A few moments later, the manager of the salad bar stormed out.

"What the hell is going on?!" the man yelled. "I don't need you brats and fatso here harassing my customers!"

Porky had to be restrained from taking a swing at the manager.

All of them were kicked out for causing trouble in the salad bar, except Esmeralda. "And if I ever catch you in here again, I will call security!" And with that, the three of them were pretty much banned from the salad bar for life.

"Well… that was fun…" Phoebus shrugged to himself, "Never was a fan of salad anyway."

Blimp-ette ranted a string of curse words before turning to Naveen. "Call me, McSteamy." She winked and handed him a piece of paper before she strut away into the distance. It took her a while but eventually she did get smaller and smaller and faded away into the "horizon".

Both boys left the mall in silence until Phoebus finally spoke up, "Yeah… about that bet… You win. Because that fat chick counts as three girls, so good job man!" He laughed and gave a sarcastic slap to Naveen's back.

Naveen just punched Phoebus in the arm.

* * *

Ariel was so glad that Meri made it out in time. She was having a bit of trouble stalling daddy since he was the no-nonsense type and all she'd done since his return was rant about useless, unimportant things. But even if she did go on about something she cared about, like him, or her freedom, daddy would probably just dismiss her.

The moment he returned, Triton was exhausted from work and Ariel was really the last person he wanted to see. He announced that his "surprise" visit was really just to drop off some stuff and pick up some clothes, equipment etc. and get some economic affairs for his organization sorted out. So no, Ariel wasn't on his list of priorities.

There was an awkward silence at the dinner table. Ariel couldn't even start a conversation with her own father. She kept eyeing him from time to time to see if he would even look up to meet her eye, but she had no such luck.

Then daddy called Sebastian over to ask for Ariel's progress in her studies. Uh-oh.

Sebastian dreaded this and so did Ariel. He shuffled over to Triton; simply being in his presence just makes Sebastian very, very nervous. "Oh… oh Ariel… She uh… her progress is… fulfilling the standards of education which an adolescent her age is required to acquire such knowledge of…" he fumbled.

"Just answer the question, Sebastian. Is Ariel keeping up with her studies, yes or no?" Triton prodded.

"N-no…" As soon as he said it, Sebastian regretted it. Ariel was already shrinking into her seat.

Triton put down his fork and knife forcibly and pinched the bridge of his nose in disappointment. "Ariel… I've been working so hard to provide for this family and all I ask is for you to simply do your best with your studies. Is that too much to ask?"

"N-no…" Ariel mumbled.

"Then why can't do such a simple thing, huh? You should be thankful that you have a proper education! I give you all this because I care, Ariel!" Triton waves his arm around gesturing to the house. His tone was full of frustration and he was clearly annoyed at having to deal with such petty things, like his daughter's apathy towards her studies.

"Well… What's the point of being educated if I can't put my knowledge to use?" Ariel argued back. She rarely had the nerve to talk back to her father but now it was her turn to get frustrated. Really, what was the point? "I'm stuck here all the time, why can't you just send me to a regular school. Even some strict, fancy prestigious one, I don't mind that! I'd receive a proper education just the same!" She raised her voice a bit to match his deep, loud one.

Triton pinched the bridge of his nose again. "Ariel, I'm tired. We've been through this, you can leave when you're eighteen and moving onto college like the rest of your sisters!"

"But I don't want to wait two more years, I'm sick of this house. I've been here practically all my life?!" Ariel whined.

"YOU are staying here until you're eighteen that's final!" Triton bellowed angrily. He got up from the table, wiped his mouth with the napkin and excused himself from the dining room.

Sebastian stood at the side awkwardly after just witnessing their little exchange. He met Ariel's eyes and she had her head on her hand. Ariel's big blue eyes began to water up. She wiped away her flowing tears and soon ran to the sanctuary of her room too.

"It's so unfair… it's just so unfair…" she murmured to herself as she fled the room.

* * *

It was already eight fifty-five when Cindy finally finished all the cleaning and cooking. Lucky for her, Anastasia didn't miss her manicure so Cindy's room was safe from trashing… for now.

She crashed onto her bed in the attic. Yeah, the attic had become her "bedroom", nothing fancy, just a small room with a low ceiling. She was kind of kicked out of her own room by her stepsisters, so they could turn it into a walk-in closet. Now she was kind of stuck in the dimly lit attic that doubles as her bedroom. It's actually better in a way because she won't have to be next to Anastasia and Drizella's annoying prattling, _and_ she has this entire space to herself where nobody, not even her stepmother, bothers to dictate what she does with her room.

Cindy was tired from doing all those chores but she was glad that her stepmother or stepsisters had no other requests and she was free to do her own thing. She even took a quick shower before they came home so they can't scold her for "hogging" the bathroom. But now she smelled of burnt food because she cooked _after_ her shower. Cindy overheated the oven when she was baking her vegetarian rolls so she had a hard time scraping the burnt bits off the food because her "dearest relations" would undoubtedly complain of she didn't. Yeah, Cindy isn't the most brilliant of cooks. I mean you won't get food poisoning but she was definitely no Martha Stewart.

She almost dozed off but then sat straight up all of a sudden. "The skype chat!"

It was already five minutes past nine. Snow wasn't going to like Cindy for being late. She boot up her second-hand HP laptop that Snow handed down to her a few years ago. It still ran on Windows XP, but other than that it wasn't too shabby.

When her skype call finally connected, Snow got straight into lecturing Cindy.

"_Why_ are you so calling so late? You _know_ Aurora here sleeps super early! I told you nine sharp!" Snow pouted.

"Sorry! You know I had a ton of chores to do, and I said I'd try, I didn't promise so you have nothing on me."

"Ok, fine. Anyways first on the agenda… there's this math question that I don't for the life of me get. Like seriously, what's with all these squiggly thingies and letters?" Snow shoved her math workbook right up into the camera. "Like I asked Aurora but she doesn't speak English, with all the "theta" and "beta", I mean what _are_ those anyways? Cindy you gotta help me, I suck at math! And please speak English!"

"That's because it _isn't_ English, it's Greek." Aurora rolled her eyes, a mannerism that you'd never catch her doing in public. It was only a side of her for her best friends to see.

"Wait, we have math homework?!" Cindy suddenly panicked. "I swear I'd have remembered the teacher mention it…" She let out a small moan. "I'll do it now with you…" Cindy disappeared from view for moment, noise of shuffling came in the background and she reappeared a few moments later with her math textbook, workbook, stationary and calculator in hand.

"Ok… what questions do we need to do?"

"Everything on page one forty-seven," Aurora informed her.

"Wait…" Cindy flipped her miserably thick textbook to the page and stared blankly at it. "There are _a lot_ of questions on here. Snow, where are you up to?"

"The third one…?" Snow smiled sheepishly. "What?!" she cried defensively on the other line, "You know I suck at maths! Like I can do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, that's it! I'm hopeless with anything beyond that!"

"Relax, no one accused you of anything..." Aurora put up her hands.

"Ok…" Cindy put down her pen, "I just finished the third question. What don't you get?" she asked Snow. It turned out the first few questions were actually really easy.

Snow got asking and Cindy patiently explained to her how the formula worked as simply as she could. Eventually, they did get the homework done with an interjected argument halfway about which guy was cuter in One Direction.

Cindy argued logically that the most physically attractive one was Zayn but Snow insisted that it was Harry because they were arguing who was cuter _not_ who was hotter. Aurora just went along with it.

"Oh, before I forget!" Snow hopped off her chair and grabbed a really nice, sexy red bustier. "Look! I got this for sale the other day at Forever 21 and it's like the cutest thing ever! I completely forgot to show you guys just now. I mean, you know normally when I shop, I like haul tons of clothes home but I didn't have as much money on me the other day. Anyways, this is seriously worth it! Do you think I should wear this tomorrow?!"

Snow backed away from the camera to show her friends what the top looked like on her and stripped off her night shirt revealing her laced bra.

"Snow!" Aurora shunned her improper behavior.

"We did not need to see that!" Cindy shielded her eyes from the busty view.

"Jeez you guys, it's not like you don't have any! We're all best friends, no shame in seeing each other's undies! And this is a really nice bra that I got from Victoria's Secret, it's got flowers and all!" Snow struggled to zip up the back of the bustier, "Omigosh, did I just get fat over the weekend, why can't I zip this thing?!" She did an awkward dance where she circled the same spot, trying to reach the zipper at the back. Her boobs were smushed and kind of spilled off the top.

"I don't think it fits you," Aurora observed.

"No duh!" Cindy deadpanned.

"What size is it?" Aurora asked.

"Um…" Snow struggled to look at the tag, "It's uh… it's XS."

"Well, no wonder it doesn't fit!"

"So I _am_ fat!" Snow whined.

"No you're not! You just bought a size too small," Cindy half-scolded Snow.

She took the top off and breathed a sigh of relief and put her night shirt back on. "Darn, and it was on sale too!" Snow pouted.

"At least, it _was _on sale." Cindy looked from the optimistic angle.

"You guys want it? I don't wanna waste the top."

Aurora pulled a "nah" face and shook her head. It was a little too showy for her taste. She was perfectly content with her shirts, skirts and chiffon tops.

"Yeah… if my stepmother or stepsisters caught me in a top like that, it'll just give them an excuse to pile me more housework… So no for me. You can give it to charity, maybe?" Cindy suggested.

Snow gave a thought about it.

Aurora suddenly turned away from her computer, "Ok!" she shouted then turned back to her friends, "That was my mom… I need to go to bed now… Sorry…" She scrunched up her face apologetically.

"But it's only nine thirty!" Snow whined.

"So I need to sleep now…" Aurora trailed off.

"Yeah, I need to go to bed too. 'Cuz I need to wake up at like five tomorrow." Cindy yawned whilst stretching.

"Seriously, who sleeps at nine thirty?! It's like super early!" Snow then yawned too.

"See? You're getting sleepy too!" Aurora pointed out.

"Am not! It's just that your yawns are contagious, I caught it over skype!" Snow whined in defense.

"Well, 'night you guys. Byyyeee…"

"Goodnight!" Cindy waved to the camera.

"Fine, 'night you guys." Snow pouted in disappointment.

And with that, the skype call ended.

* * *

Meri got home just in time for dinner. Her father was in his usual, loud self. He was retelling his tale on how he closed his corporate deal of a life time, being one of his proudest achievements. Fergus was a great storyteller because he'd do the voices too. She laughed on the way into the dining room and the moment she arrived at the table she flopped into her seat.

"Daddy! Mom! Whaaat's for dinner?" Meri asked.

Elinor put down her knife and fork, "How many times have I told you, no skateboards on the table, Merida! The table is for food, not your crude, four-wheeled devices!"

Aaand her mother just killed her good mood. "Ugh, ok, ok." Meri casually swept her skateboard off the table and it dropped onto the wooden floors with a clank. "Happy?"

Her mother didn't grace the sarcasm with an answer and changed the subject immediately. "We have vegetarian stew for dinner, there were supposed to be carrots but Maudie couldn't find them. Apparently, they just disappeared all of a sudden."

Oops… Meri thought. She pulled a face of disgust at the mention of the word "vegetarian". There wasn't anything close to decent laid out on the table. There were lots of potatoes, potato in the stew, mashed potatoes, jacket potatoes, potato salad… Jeez, and they weren't even Irish.

"Yeah… I'm real stuffed… I'm going to head to my room and do my homework…" Meri trailed off and got up, about to leave the room.

"Wait, a minute young lady! You can't just skip dinner, at least have some potatoes!" Elinor insisted.

"I'm reaaaally stuffed, mom. I had like a huge snack at Ariel's, I couldn't possibly fit another morsel!" Meri lied through her teeth.

Elinor narrowed her eyes, suspicious of Meri, but then let it go. "Alright."

"'Kay then. 'Night!" She grabbed her skateboard, backpack, waved back to her family then ran up to her room.

As soon as Meri got out of the shower, she went straight on facebook. There may have been some homework she's supposed to complete, but whatever, there's nothing like procrastination!

She scrolled aimlessly through her homepage and liked a bunch of useless, funny memes from useless, funny pages that she liked. They made her snort randomly at the screen. There were a few notifications from the corner of her window that she hasn't checked because she was barely bothered. If Meg were here, she'd be flipping about it because she hated it when people don't make that student little red icon to go away. Buuuut she wasn't, so meh.

Then Meri came across a camwhore photo with a quote that had absolutely nothing to do with the picture from some blonde junior. Ugh, she hated it when girls do shit like this; it just made her want to punch them. Why did she even friend this girl anyway? Oh well, Meri wasn't bothered to unfriend her either.

She checked the clock and it was already past nine. Time to put her plan in action.

Meri grabbed her Spanish test out of her backpack and a pen and tip-toed over to her parents' bedroom. She opened a teenie crack from the door and peered in.

"Merida, I know you're there," her father said.

Meri sighed and walked into the room. Fergus sat in his bed with a laptop propped in front of him, no doubt writing some new software. Meri could hear her mother in the shower. Good.

"Daddy…?" Meri asked all nice and sweetly.

"Yes, love?" Fergus took off his glasses, "What is it? Come on, spit it out."

"Coooould you… maybe um… sign this test for me…?" Meri handed the test and pen to her dad sheepishly.

Fergus took the pen and paper and put on his glasses again. He took a good look at her test. "Looks like it says here that you've failed your Spanish test."

"Please, please, pleeeease don't tell mom?" Meri kneeled by her father's side and shook his big arms vigorously. "Otherwise I'll never hear the end of it!"

Fergus thought about it.

"Pleeeease?" Meri gave her father the puppy eyes.

"Oh, alright." Fergus couldn't say no to his beloved daughter and those eyes. He quickly scribbled his signature and handed Meri her test back.

"Yes!"

Just then, the sound of running water stopped.

Meri's eyes widened in alarm and she immediately bailed before her mother found out she'd been here.

She returned to the safety of her room. Spanish test, check.

She went back to facebook and saw Mulan online. Meri immediately messaged her.

"_'Sup_"

Mulan replied within seconds, "_Go away D:_"

"_No :(_"

"_I'm soooooooo bored_"

Mulan replied again, "_Stop distracting me! I'm trying to write my essay!_"

"_Yeah, but ur on fb?_"

"_Hey, at least I'm multitasking, what have YOU been up to? Procrastinating, no doubt :P_"

"_Well, yeah_"

"_Seriously, I can't chat right now, I'll talk to you tmr :3_"

"_Fine then ):_" Mulan then signed off.

Elinor came out of the bathroom in her nightgown and climbed into bed with Fergus. "What was that I heard about not telling me something?" She gave her husband a quizzical look.

"Oh, no, no. It was nothing. Really, it was nothing," Fergus hastily brushed the subject aside.

"Oh really?" Elinor could obviously tell when her husband was lying.

"Yeah… sweetie, it was just…" Elinor raised an eyebrow. "Oh alright, alright… Your daughter failed her Spanish test. There."

Elinor heaved a sigh and shook her head. "That's exactly why she didn't want to tell you because she knew you'd act like that!"

"Well I have every right to be anxious! She failed her Spanish test!"

"It's just a Spanish test."

"Fergus!"

"Well what does she need Spanish for anyway? She could speak English just fine." Fergus shrugged.

"It doesn't matter! She failed a test! Ugh!" Elinor slumped into the covers and switched off the bedside lamp. "I just can't… get through to her, Fergus… I can't, I don't why," she said a little sadly, disappointed at herself.

Fergus gave a kiss to his wife's temple.

"Oh come to bed, you big oaf! I can't sleep with that annoying light on from your silly laptop!" Elinor complained.

Fergus moaned and put his laptop away. He was grown man yet he was always bossed around by the women in his life. Sigh.

"'Night sweetheart," he mumbled.

Elinor didn't reply but a few moments later she said, "She gets it from you."

"What, Merida? No she does not!"

"Yes, she does."

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

"Does not!"

"Whatever." Elinor yawned then fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

**God, it took me so long to write this chapter e.e I got stuck in some bits with Ariel :3 But here goes the second part of after school fun. Yay.**

**So I really enjoyed writing the salad bar bit with Phoebus and Naveen, haha. Ursula made a cameo :P There isn't any guarantee that she'll appear in later chapters though… And I just want you guys to know, that I have absolutely nothing against fat people. Really. I was just thinking in terms of Ursula and I mean come on, you've seen her. If you saw someone like that in real life, they could really use a few pounds less. Oh and that comment I made about the "guy bonding", yeah… I'm not a guy so I have no idea if they really "bond" over basketball. *shrug***

**- Um, I know Ariel's dad is supposed to be cooler but I'm kind of writing him in the state of the prequel (the prequel to The Little Mermaid?). I haven't actually seen the movie but this is kind of what I imagine him to be like. **

**- I don't know why I keep mentioning vegetarian meals because I'm not vegetarian. But I can imagine these characters being very conscious of what they eat. Yeah apparently all the characters like to eat healthy *shrug***

**- I incorporated a bit of the sleazy asshole- Phoebus from the original Hunchback of Notre-Dame novel by Victor Hugo. But don't worry, he's still the chivalrous gentleman underneath all the macho bravado. We just need to wait until Esmeralda starts to see him for what he really is. I can't wait to write them because I've got some goooood stuff planned :D**

**- Do you think there was too much pointless conversation between Cindy, Aurora and Snow in that skype chat? Cuz I felt like there may have been too much talking /: I'm more of an action person when it comes to stories, I don't know about you guys :3**

**- Um… I am certain that I won't be including Rapunzel and Jane Porter. Sorry /: I just don't feel like they're easy to fit into the plot I've already drawn out. Some others I MAY include, but no promises… But feel free to suggest any ideas you have for the plot or requests and I'll put them into consideration ^^**

**- Oh and I reached 900 views :'D It still isn't much but boy has it made me ever so happy :DDD Thanks so much to some of you who have persevered with this still developing story J You have really made an amateur writer like me truly happy :')**

**As always, thanks for reading and remember to leave comments on what you think ^^**


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